Stainless Steel
by CaBrPi
Summary: AKA Steven Stone's Adventures in Hoenn. When playing through RSE, you encounter Steven Stone several times, and he is  usually  the Hoenn Champion. Here, I'm chronicling his initial League Challenge.
1. Chapter 1

The boy who laid on his back on his messy king-size bed yawned, tossing a Poké Ball into the air and catching it repeatedly. His dyed-gray hair, which was naturally brown, reflected the golden light of the extravagant chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, and his steel-gray eyes gazed into space, bored. The floor of the bedroom was littered with stones from around the world: Moon Stones from the Kanto region, Sun Stones from Johto, and even a meteorite or two from around Hoenn. A small, blue, cylindrical Pokémon with a single red eye hovered curiously over to the boy.

"Beldum?" it inquired, slowly, almost dumbly.

The boy sighed. "Oh, nothing, Beldum. I'm just bored, as usual."

"Beldum! Bel-Beldum," the Pokémon suggested.

"But you know how dad is, Beldum. I've never been outside of Rustboro City, let alone all the way to the Petalburg Woods!" the boy replied, easily understanding his Pokémon's speech.

The boy sighed, exasperated. He was so tired of living in luxury, having everything done for you, and not ever being able to go anywhere! He was tired of being known only as "Mr. Stone's son" or "Stone boy". He wanted to be himself. He wanted people to know his name!

"Beldum!" Beldum declared. Its head began to give off a silver glow, and it shot forward, ramming an imaginary enemy with an Iron Head attack.

"I know you want to go, too, Beldum, but dad won't let me. He won't have his only son, heir to the Devon Corporation, go off on his own like that," the boy said, closing his eyes and mocking his father. Both the boy and his Beldum fell silent.

Suddenly, a loud gurgling growl broke the silence. The boy groaned, rubbing his stomach hungrily, and sat up, glancing over at the clock on the wall above the oak dresser. Just on time, the wooden figure of a small blue and white bird with a yellow beak and red forehead burst from behind tiny wooden doors, chirping, "Taillow!" twelve times, before retreating.

"I guess it's time to go get lunch," the boy said. Beldum nodded, and the two left the bedroom, coming out into a hallway decorated with rocks and stones inside rectangular glass cases, which reflected the line of golden chandeliers identical to that in the boy's room.

A maid dressed in a black and white uniform smiled graciously at him, her dark brown hair hanging around the fronts and backs of her shoulders, as she passed him on her way to the laundry room, at the opposite end of the hall. "Good afternoon, Master Steven," she said.

Steven smiled back. "Hello." He took comfort in the fact that the staff at the Stone Mansion knew his name, but it just wasn't enough to drive that feeling of being cast into a role he didn't want out of his heart.

He strolled down the long crimson rug, one of many that ran down the center of every hallway in the house. Beldum floated just behind him, three gray metal toes working. Steven's stomach growled again, louder this time, before he came into the kitchen. Counters lined the opposing walls on either side of the entrance, with an island in the middle. The aroma of cooked sandwich meat and fresh bread tantalized Steven's taste buds. A large man with a hair net over his scraggly gray beard stood, dressed entirely in white, chopping brown meat gracefully, moving his fingers away from the sharp edge of the knife with each chop.

"Hey, Jacques," he said absently.

The chef set his knife aside on the sparkling counter top, and turned, his tall white hat causing pans hanging from a rack overhead to clang together. "Bonjour, monsieur Steven!" he greeted. "Se sandwiches, sey are almost complete!" he said, raising a fist into the air for emphasis.

Steven chuckled. "Great! I'm hungry."

"Sey will be ready post-haste," Jacques said, before returning to his work.

Steven watched as the chef sliced the meat effortlessly into several pieces. Without looking up, he reached over and grabbed a plate full of slices of freshly-baked bread, yanking it over closer to the meat. Using the knife, Jacques elegantly flipped three or four slices of meat onto either of two slices of bread, and then the third and fourth slices of bread onto the now-complete sandwiches.

Jacques reached into a drawer below him, and produced a brown paper bag, and flipped one sandwich inside it, before rolling up the top, grabbing the plate with the other sandwich, and turning to Steven. "Here you are," he said. "Bon appétit!"

Steven took the plate and sat the brown bag on it, and hungrily devoured his sandwich, too starved to savor the flavor of the meat, which had just been bought at the local market that morning. "What is this?" Steven asked, mouth still full of the final bite of meat and bread, indicating the bag.

"Se maid who usually takes se sandwiches to monsieur Stone is sick today. I sought you would like some exercise and fresh air," Jacques answered with a knowing smile.

Steven's face lit up as he swallowed the remnants of the sandwich. "Thanks, Jacques!"

Jacques simply smiled as Steven sat the plate on the island and rushed out the door opposite the entrance he'd just gone through, around the long table of the dining room and its ten chairs on each side, silky white tablecloth fluttering in the air conditioning, then into the spacious living room, then through the open doorway into the main foyer, with its grand staircases leading to the second floor and its many guest bedrooms, and out the front door, which he was careful to shut behind him.

He paused, gazing out at the estate, the lengthy, complex, maze of high-growing shrubbery, the tall white fence that surrounded the property, and the long, winding gravel driveway that led from the road, around the side of the house, to the multi-car garage in the back. With Beldum following closely, Steven took off down the driveway, the gravel crunching audibly under his feet and sandwich rustling in the paper bag. He stopped next to the mail box, next to the road, breathing hard, and caught his breath, before starting off down the side of the road at full speed.

The Devon Corporation headquarters loomed high above the rest of Rustboro City. It was built of yellow bricks, and stood five stories high. Steven sped past houses and the local market, and turned down the road that ran in front of the building.

He slowed to a stop in front of the glass double-doors, and pushed hard. His body was forced backwards by the recoil, and he shook his head and rubbed his temples. He squinted at the lettering engraved in the golden handle, and his face turned red when he realized that it said "Pull". He quickly entered the building, waving to the receptionist at the front desk, and took the first staircase two steps at a time. Scientists worked at bulky computers, not glancing up at him. He passed them and came to the next staircase on the opposite side of the room, and shot up those, and the next staircase after that, slowing down slightly, and the next, and the next, before finally arriving in his father's office on the fifth floor, panting.

"Steven, my boy! What brings you here?" President Stone said.

"The maid that usually brings you lunch is out today," Steven replied between breaths. He walked slowly to the large desk his father sat behind, and handed the brown paper bag to him. Mr. Stone unrolled the top of the bag and pulled the sandwich out before tossing the bag into a nearby waste basket.

"Steven, you know how I feel about you leaving the grounds," Mr. Stone said.

"I know, dad, but I need the exercise. I can't be cooped up at home all day everyday!" Steven said, waving his arms at his sides.

"Beldum!" Beldum said, reinforcing Steven's point.

"Steven, you're only fifteen. You only have one Pokémon. What if Beldum is taken out of battle? It only knows Take Down and Iron Head. You can't just go out whenever it strikes your fancy!"

"But, dad-"

"But nothing!," Mr. Stone said, red-faced. "Look at yourself, you haven't even changed out of your pajamas!"

Steven's head jerked down and he realized his father was right. He'd been so caught up in finally getting to leave the house, he'd forgotten to even change clothes! How could Jacques not tell him?

"Listen, dad, I know this looks bad, but nobody really even saw me! I ran all the way here!"

"You ran here? That's even worse! What if you didn't see a car coming and it hit you? You're my only son! The only heir I have! What, am I supposed to just leave the company to a total stranger when I retire?"

"Dad..." Steven whined.

Mr. Stone waved his hand dismissively. "Go on, now. Go back home. I'll decide your punishment when I get home this evening. I'll have Clay walk with you there."

"Dad, I don't want the Gym Leader of Rustboro City escorting me home in my pajamas!" Steven protested.

"Then you shouldn't have come in them." Mr. Stone spun around in his chair, and munched angrily on his sandwich, tearing a large bite out of it.

Steven let out a sad sigh. His shoulders sunk, and he looked down at the ground. He turned and began to make the long climb back down the stairs. Behind him, he heard his father dial in the Rustboro Gym's phone number on his telephone. "Clay? This is Mr. Stone..."

The workers gave him odd looks as he passed them, and his face flushed red, embarrassed. When he pushed through the doors on the ground floor, he looked around, and didn't see the Gym Leader. He took a deep breath, and shot back off toward the mansion.

He didn't return anybody's glances as he passed them on their ways to their favorite spots around the city to take lunch breaks. He just ran. Ran, with Beldum close behind.

He stormed through the mansion toward his room, let Beldum through, and slammed it behind him. He dropped to his knees on the floor and clenched his fists. "I can't believe this. I'm being punished for taking my dad his lunch? The main office isn't even that far away! It's not like some over-powered Mightyena is just going to jump out of the bushes and eat me!" Steven growled in frustration.

Then his head perked up. He didn't even realize the television was on. On its somewhat small screen, a battle was raging between Drake of the Elite Four and a challenger. The challenger's Slaking had already seriously injured Drake's most powerful Pokémon, his Salamence. Steven edged closer to the TV, entranced by what he saw.

The Slaking picked its nose at its trainer's next command, and suffered a Dragon Claw to the face. Angered, the Slaking then leapt to its own defense upon its trainer's urging, and flung its own body at Salamence's face, knocking it out of the battle with a Giga Impact attack. The majestic dragon-type Pokémon collapsed, and disappeared in a flash of red light, returning to its Poké Ball. The challenger and Drake approached the center of the ruined battlefield and shook hands, although the angle of the camera made it impossible to see the challenger's face.

Steven had heard rumors about a trainer who had defeated all eight Gym Leaders of the Hoenn region, and in fact, the Rustboro Gazette had gotten exclusive coverage of the battle between this challenger and Clay of the Rustboro Gym, and the battle had been plastered all over the front page for days. He regretted not paying any attention to the many articles several months ago, but it was too late.

Either way, someone had actually done it- someone had actually managed to defeat the Hoenn region's Elite Four, and there was finally a champion. This made Hoenn the first region to have one. It would surely be a major story all across the country, not just Hoenn. He could see it now, news programs and papers and books all about how one extremely talented trainer from the Hoenn region had at last conquered an entire Pokémon League! It'd be all over from here to Sinnoh!

Steven turned his gaze to the window, and the forest to the north of the city beyond. A flock of Taillow took flight from the sprawling trees. A few Swablu followed suit. To the east, a Zigzagoon raced agilely between trees, disappearing from sight and reappearing repeatedly. A Skitty rubbed its face with a front paw.

He opened his window and leaned out of it, breathing in the cool, salty air blowing in from the ocean to the northwest, hearing the buzzing chirp of several Nincada as they left their underground burrows tentatively, keeping out of sight of any potential predators.

Suddenly, feeling excitement flood his veins, Steven shouted, "I'm leaving, whether my dad likes it or not! Soon, Hoenn, you will all know who I am! I am Steven Stone of Rustboro City!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Wallace, Rival Extraordinaire!**

Steven thumbed through his wallet, counting out twenty thousand Pokédollars, before he shoved it deep into the back pocket of his denim shorts. He slipped a belt through the loops around his waist, slid six clips at regular intervals onto the belt on his right side, returned Beldum to its Poké Ball, and attached the half-red, half-white sphere to one of the clips. He pulled his gray shirt down, straightening out the shirttail, which had ruffled when he attached the Poké Ball to his belt. He counted out fifteen tiny Poké Balls, each empty and ready for immediate usage, and dropped them each into a side pocket of his khaki-colored backpack. A Town Map, showing in elaborate detail the entire Hoenn region, rolled up and fell swiftly into the opposite pocket. Ten Potions, miniscule purple cans with white tops which would restore his Pokémon's energy levels, their lids in the "lock" position, were dropped into the spacious main pocket, along with two outfits identical to the one he currently wore. He dropped to his feet and laced his running shoes tight.

He glanced over at his bare dresser, that long oak monolith, and the paper on top, fluttering slightly in the breeze stirred up by the air conditioning. In perfect but simple handwriting, it read, "Dad- I am leaving to go on a Pokémon journey. I will probably have already beaten Clay by the time you read this, so don't bother to look for me, because I will already be halfway to Petalburg City. Hoenn finally has a champion, and I aim to take the Gym challenge and then face him. I have Beldum with me, so you don't need to worry. I'll be fine. Best Wishes, Steven." Steven nodded. Everything sounded good to him.

Making sure to leave as silently as a Duskull, he climbed cautiously through the open window, and then gently lowered it back to the windowsill, and it automatically locked. He stealthily trotted toward the woods, not noticing Jacques watching him through the window, smiling to himself, before turning, switching off the TV, and leaving the room.

Satisfied that he was out of view of the mansion, he backed himself up against a tree and checked his watch. The hands read, "2:14". It hadn't taken nearly as long for Steven to get everything together as he'd thought it would.

"Hmm..." he said aloud, clutching his chin between his thumb and forefinger, thinking about his next move. "I know Clay uses the rock-type, so Beldum should have an advantage, but I don't know how many Pokémon he has." He paused for a moment, before continuing. "I bet I can find an Aron in the Rustboro Cave."

He knew that there would probably be contractors preparing to dig through to the Verdanturf Cave, but would they be starting on construction yet? They'd need drills to dig the whole way through, anyway, big ones, too, and Steven hadn't heard of any large shipments entering the city lately. He decided that would be the best course of action, and started north, heading further away from the mansion, and then east, leaving Rustboro City and coming into Route 116.

He could hear clearly now the chirping of the Nincada, who peeked out at him from the bushes. An Abra snored lightly high up on a tree branch. He searched around him, eyeing the tall grass all around him for any sign of the shiny bone-white armor of an Aron, which he knew probably didn't spend all day in the cave.

Suddenly, the grass ahead of him rustled. He hunched lower, approaching carefully. He kicked a small rock with the toe of his shoe, and immediately dropped to his haunches to restrain it before it could alert whatever Pokémon was just ahead of him. He smirked, grasping the stone with his long fingers, and rose to full height, before hurling the stone into the grass ahead.

Immediately, he regretted this decision. The grass shifted to reveal a small purple Pokémon with long, yellow-tipped ears. The Pokémon began to wail loudly, agitating other members of its species in the area into joining the cacophony.

Steven clapped his hands over his ears and fell to his knees in agony. He felt his eardrums vibrate painfully, as if they were about to burst. He gritted his teeth, feeling his whole body tense as he tried to seal out the harsh sound, before it suddenly terminated.

He looked up, seeing the startled Pokémon being approached by another. This one was small, with a large head and big blue eyes. It crawled forward tenderly on four stubby legs. Its entire body was encased in off-white armor, except for a few darkened holes and its dark gray underside.

"Aron," it offered soothingly. "Ron Aron."

"Whismur," the purple Pokémon whimpered.

"Aron ron," the Aron replied. It gestured toward the cave, which seemed to be empty. The Whismur nodded, smiled, and ran on its stubby little legs toward the cave.

"I've gotta capture it before it gets away," Steven muttered to himself. He swung his backpack around in front of himself, reached into the pocket of Poké Balls, grasped one, and re-shouldered his backpack.

Holding the golfball-sized sphere in one hand, he aimed carefully, and tossed the ball. Almost immediately, the ball was knocked away by a large plank of wood. Steven dove to recover the ball, only to find it smashed.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" a gruff voice asked.

Steven looked up to see the Aron rubbing against a large, sturdy man's legs. Balanced over one shoulder was a long plank of lumber, which Steven guessed had been what knocked the ball away from the Aron.

"You can't catch Pokémon that belong to another trainer! That's illegal!" the man fumed, red-faced.

"Oh, that Aron is yours?" Steven said weakly, disheartened.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it is," the man growled, before turning away and trudging off toward a concrete foundation platform, surrounded by several other men carrying tools and more lumber.

_Maybe they're building a rest house before they begin work on the tunnel_, Steven thought to himself.

A nasal, condescending laugh rang out from behind Steven, and he spun to find a boy who looked to be a year or two younger than him. The boy wore a pure white undershirt with an unbuttoned white jacket, and denim jeans. With a manicured hand, he brushed a lock of minty blue hair out of his face.

"I guess you're new to training?" he said, smirking.

"Maybe. What's it to you?" Steven shot back.

"Geez, Dex, fire a warning shot next time, why don't ya? I just figured you were new because any _real_ trainer knows that there are no wild Aron around these parts." The boy giggled again.

Steven growled. "Fine, then. You want to see a real trainer? I'll show you one!" Steven detached Beldum's Poké Ball from his belt and tossed it to the ground, releasing the Pokémon in a flash of red light.

"Suit yourself," the boy yawned, casually tossing his own Poké Ball onto the ground. From the tiny sphere materialized an ugly brown fish with splotchy skin and tattered blue fins.

Steven raised an eyebrow. If this guy was a _true trainer_, why was he using something that looked so weak?

"I'll go first! Feebas, use Tackle!" the boy commanded.

The pathetic Pokémon seemed to compress, and then sprung upwards at Beldum, slamming into it and bouncing back to the ground.

"Beldum, use Iron Head!" Steven said.

Beldum's head began to glow as it had earlier, and it shot forward and rammed the boy's Feebas, knocking it backwards several feet.

"No, Feebas! Use Water Pulse!"

The Feebas concentrated on Beldum for a moment, and water began to coat its body before splashing out at it. The attack failed to even reach Beldum before it collapsed, dampening the ground.

"Beldum, Take Down!" Steven said. Beldum complied, darting forward and slamming into the Feebas, which flopped over on its side. Its eyes shut tight, and it pursed its lips together.

"Darn," the boy said, returning his Pokémon to its capsule.

"Real trainer, huh?" Steven taunted. "Great job, Beldum!" he commended his Pokémon, returning it.

"Yeah, I'm a real trainer! My mentor said so!" the boy said.

"Well, if you're a real trainer, why are you using a Pokémon like that?"

"My mentor gave me the task of making it beautiful!" the boy answered immediately. "My mentor is Juan, the Gym Leader of Sootopolis City! I'm Wallace, his best student!" he boasted.

"Wallace, huh? I'm Steven-" Steven replied, almost giving away his last name. "And you say there's no Aron in this area? Great. I guess I'll have to take on Clay with just Beldum."

"You shouldn't have any trouble," Wallace said. "I beat Clay myself!" Wallace reached into his pocket and produced a small stylized rectangle cast in steel. "This is the Stone Badge."

"How did you beat him if your Pokémon can't use its water-type move?" Steven asked.

"I usually keep Feebas's Poké Ball filled with water, just in case. But after I got done at the Pokémon Center, my master called me on the Center's telephone, and asked me to investigate this area."

"Oh? What's in this area to investigate?"

"My master said that there've been reports of suspicious men running around in capes lately. He wanted me to see if there were any men like that out here. He told me not to battle them or even let them know I've seen them, but I haven't seen a thing."

"That's weird. I haven't heard anything about it," Steven said.

"Okay, well, let me know if you do!" Wallace said. "I've got to go back to the Pokémon Center to get Feebas healed up. You should come to, to make sure your Beldum is in top form for your battle."

"Okay," Steven said, shrugging his shoulders. Wallace passed him and he turned to follow the boy back into the city.

They walked along the road, avoiding any possibility of being sighted from the mansion. Steven wasn't worried about his dad spotting him from his office, either. He was probably too busy with business deals and dreaming up the next newest Poké Ball, always trying to stay one step ahead of Devon Corporation's main competitors, Kanto's Silph Company.

It wasn't long before the two boys entered through the automatic glass door into the warm, inviting light of the Pokémon Center. The nurse greeted them kindly, and took their Poké Balls before asking them for their identification and Trainer's Permits.

"Trainer's Permit?" Steven asked.

"You mean you don't have one?" the pink-haired nurse said, surprised. "It's legally required to even participate in a Pokémon battle! I'll heal your Pokémon this time, but the next time you come in, if you don't have one, I'm afraid I'll have to report you to the Rustboro Police." She turned to the restoration machine, which generated supersonic waves that acted as a catalyst for a Pokémon's natural healing properties while inside a Poké Ball.

"Oh," Steven said. "Where can I get one of those?"

"You can get one at the Trainer's School. If you're at least fifteen, you only need to take an examination and pass it to get one. The Trainer's School is just across the street," the nurse answered without looking away from the monitor which showed the healing progress. After a few moments, the nurse deactivated the machine and retrieved the two Poké Balls and handed them to the boys.

"Thank you, madam," Wallace said graciously.

"Yeah, thanks!" Steven added, impatiently.

"You're welcome. Feel free to come back any time once you have your permit!" she said. With that, Steven spun on his heel and rushed out the door, with Wallace apologizing for his new friend's behavior and following soon after.

Steven stopped at the edge of the road, glanced both ways, and felt himself get knocked forward by Wallace's weight. The two collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Steven groaned as Wallace pulled himself up. "Sorry. I didn't have time to stop when you did. It's not a good idea to just go bolting off and then suddenly stop." He reached down and pulled Steven up to his feet, and then flicked some dust from the shoulder of his white jacket.

"Sure," Steven muttered, making sure Beldum's Poké Ball hadn't been cracked. Seeing that it wasn't, he looked back up at Wallace. "Are you coming to the Trainer's School, too?"

"Nah. I already have a Trainer's Permit, and I need to get back to investigating and battling to make my Feebas beautiful! There's a lake south of the city. I'll refill the Poké Ball there. I also here there's a berry garden there, so that'll be useful, too! See ya," Wallace said, gesturing with his forefinger and middle finger to say farewell, before he turned and began strutting off toward the south.

Steven watched Wallace walk for a while, and then darted across the street and entered the Trainer's School.

The cool air almost immediately dried all the sweat Steven hadn't noticed he'd been producing outside. It was, after all, springtime in Hoenn.

Students sat at individual desks arranged in rows, scouring their text books intently. A young man with brown hair immediately greeted him. "Hello, hi! Do you how do?"

"Um..." Steven said, unsure of what this man was asking.

"My name, Earl it is! A School of Trainers of Pokémon you have entered! On purpose or accidentally, though?"

"Uh..."

"Want to be a winner is you?" the man asked.

"Yes! Yes, I want to be a winner!" Steven answered, slightly irritated with the man's odd manner.

"A teacher here I am! Fifteen years you have, yes? Then take the test you have to do only!"

"Okay," Steven said. "I'm ready."

"Yes, yes! Follow me, you will if!" The man turned and led Steven to an empty desk. "Here you must sit to the test take!" Steven sat and watched as the man went to his own desk, larger than the rest and facing the students, reached into a drawer, and brought out a few sheets of paper and a pencil, and returned, laying the test on the desk. "If break your pencil or need sharpened, ask for new!"

"Okay," Steven said. The man returned to his desk and sat down to watch the students.

Steven looked down at the paper before him and was relieved to see that it was printed in plain English. He began reading the questions, each about typing match-ups, how to properly conduct battles, and so on, and writing his answers below them. He quickly finished the test, and raised his hand, hoping another teacher would come to take it up. Unfortunately, the same teacher rose and walked excitedly to him.

"Finished you are? Quick it was! Hope for you passed I do," the man said, grabbing the papers and pencil and returning to his desk once more. "Here wait until finished grading I am!"

Steven rested his head on his hand, firmly planting his elbow on the wooden desk. The minutes seemed to pass like hours, and it was taking the teacher what seemed like a particularly long time to finish grading the test. His tongue emerged from between his lips, as if he was having to concentrate hard on understanding the words. Steven wondered how long he'd been working here.

Eventually, a tall, slender, fair-skinned man with dusty-brown hair entered the door. It was obvious he spent much of his time inside somewhere. A little girl with long black hair hopped from her desk and ran up to him, clutching his legs. He reached down and picked her up. "Daddy, I don't want to come back! It's hard!" the girl said.

"Roxanne, how will you be a good Gym Leader if you don't know about Pokémon?" he asked. "I only got to be the Gym Leader because I know so much about Pokémon."

Steven stood, forcing the chair back behind him, and approached the man, who had arrived to pick up his daughter, slowly. "You're Clay?" he asked.

"Yes." The man smiled. "I suppose you're Steven Stone? What are you doing here?"

Steven's face turned red. He was embarrassed that this man so easily figured out who he was. "I wanted to get my Trainer's Permit," Steven said. "I wanted to challenge you. I guess I'll just be going home now, then."

The conversation was interrupted when the eccentric teacher came up and proudly displayed Steven's grade, tears welling up in his eyes. "A score perfect! You will have the Permit of Trainers! Simply I only need a signature adult's."

"An... adult's... signature?" Steven said. His shoulders sunk. His heart sunk. Who would sign for a spoiled ungrateful little runaway like him anyway?

"Here, let me see that," Clay said, setting his daughter Roxanne down. He took the paper from the teacher, and swiftly scribbled his name on it. "There you go," he said, handing the paper back.

"Yes! The Permit you shall have immediately!" the teacher turned and hurried to his desk. A machine hummed for a moment, and then quit. The teacher returned with a small piece of laminated paper. "For you, this is!" he said, presenting the slip to Steven.

The paper read:

"Name: Steven Stone

Age: 15

Height: 5' 8"

Weight: 135 lbs."

Somehow, a picture of Steven looked out at him from next to his name, age, height, and weight. Steven guessed the teacher had taken it while he was waiting for him to finish grading and wasn't paying attention.

"Thank you, Earl," Clay said. The teacher nodded.

"Welcome is you."

"Thank you," Steven said, gratefully, to both Earl and Clay.

"Steven, for me chase your dreams. The dream of mine is Johto school of my own! Teach the children little of that region will I!" He took Steven's hand and shook it vigorously.

"Good luck," Steven said. He was too elated with having his permit to voice his disdain for this man.

"And to you! Steven Stone!" With that, the man returned to his desk to watch the students again, wiping his jubilant eyes with a tissue.

Clay picked Roxanne up again and turned to leave. "Well, are you coming or not?"

Steven looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah!" he said.

"Then let's go. I'll have to let my Gym Trainers know, but you can challenge us in a few minutes after we get there," Clay explained.

"All right!" Steven said, barely able to contain his excitement.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Rustboro Gym Leader Clay**

As Steven entered the Rustboro Gym, a cloud of dust swirled around his feet, drawn by the sudden shift in air pressure. Roxanne followed on her father's heels, casting occasional timid glances back at the stranger. Clay stopped suddenly, and Roxanne, diverting her eyes back at him, walked into his legs and fell backwards.

Steven stifled a chuckle, and the little girl's face grew red and she climbed back to her feet and dusted off the bottom of her dark blue dress, flustered.

"Stay here," Clay said. "I'll send Roxanne back here to tell you when we're ready."

Steven nodded, understanding, and Clay turned to a door to the side of the main entrance, and disappeared through it, Roxanne in tow.

Steven took a deep breath, taking in the cool air and the dry scent of sandstone. He stood, looking out into the gym from his position in the entrance hall. The floor was checkered with black and white tile, which reflected the light from the main area of the gym. On either side of him stood a stone slab topped with a tiny carved statue of a Salamence. The broad, axe-blade shaped wings were lifted back and up, and the wide jaws were wide open, ready to attack. A front paw dug into the top of the slab. A shiny black plaque had recently been installed, reading, "Rustboro Gym Leader Clay. Victors: Jo-" Apparently, the name hadn't been finished being engraved.

Steven looked up as he heard footsteps echo ahead, in the main chamber. He couldn't see whoever was out there; they were probably obscured by the rock walls which apparently formed a small maze that Steven would have to traverse before he could face Clay.

He shifted his attention to his watch, noting the time: "3:24". He had just over an hour and a half before his father left the office, and a few minutes longer before he could get home. He was confident that he could defeat Clay with time to spare, but he couldn't help but feel like it was taking too long for the Gym Leader to ready his trainers.

At last, Roxanne peeked out from behind the door. "Daddy says you can go now," she said, smiling shyly at him.

"Thank you," Steven replied. Roxanne instantly turned and shut the door behind her. Steven could hear her footsteps echo as she hurried back to watch her father.

He took a deep, calming breath, feeling his muscles relax. He tapped the single Poké Ball at his waist, a sort of reassurance to himself and his Pokémon.

He stepped out into the maze, and sighed in relief, seeing that it was much more straightforward than he'd expected. It was simple: there was one main path bordered on both sides by high rock walls, with two more paths that curved around two Gym Trainers.

Steven decided that Beldum could use the experience, and decided to take the straight path, easily defeating both trainers, who both used only a single Geodude. It was pretty easy, Steven thought. Beldum, being a steel-type, had an advantage over Geodude, which were partly rock-type. Iron Head was a relatively powerful steel-type attack, and because of the type advantage, did twice as much damage to the small, boulder-like Pokémon.

Clay smiled wisely when Steven stepped strongly into his division of the gym. The arena was a sandy rectangle with rocky outcroppings scattered at irregular intervals. Steven noted to himself that these were probably there to provide both cover for Clay's Pokémon as well as to provide ammunition for attacks like Rock Throw.

"You've made it here quickly. I'm impressed. Only the Champion has made it here faster," Clay commended.

"Thanks... I think," Steven said, returning the Gym Leader's grin.

"I may have given you some leeway at the Trainer's School, but at this gym, I show only the utmost respect to my opponents, so I'm afraid you won't be given any charity here!" From his end of the arena, Clay tossed his first Poké Ball, the sphere snapping open to reveal the rocky, spherical Geodude. With one powerful fist, Geodude pounded the ground beneath it, sending up a small cloud of dust. The intensity in its eyes only fueled Steven's ambition more, and he released his Beldum onto the field.

"Geodude, Rock Polish!" Clay said.

Geodude nodded, and did nothing. Steven thought that maybe it had become more streamlined, but he couldn't be sure from this distance.

"Beldum, use Iron Head!" Steven commanded.

Beldum lined its body up in the air, angling it toward the rock-type, and zipped forward. Geodude darted to the left, barely avoiding the attack. Beldum slowed and turned, waiting for its next command.

"Geodude, use Rock Polish again!" Clay shouted.

The Geodude's surface smoothed ever so slightly; this time, Steven was sure of it. "Beldum, use Iron Head before it gets away!"

Beldum spun in mid-air, and rocketed forward, landing a glancing blow on Geodude, which cried out in alarm, floating backwards with the blow's inertia.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!" Clay commanded.

Geodude immediately darted to a pile of rocks, grabbed one, and tossed it. The rock struck Beldum in the head, lodging itself in the Pokémon's eye socket. Beldum cried out in pain and jerked back and forth blindly.

"Beldum, get it out of your eye! Use Iron Head!" Steven said.

Beldum obediently shot itself into a pile of rocks, some of which shattered upon impact. The rock had been loosened, but it wasn't out yet.

"Geodude, use Defense Curl!" Clay said. Geodude's outer shell began shifting, the stronger plates moving to cover up the Pokémon's weak points.

"Beldum, aim a Take Down upward!" Steven said. He had to get that rock out of Beldum's eye, or it wouldn't be able to aim accurately! Beldum began to build up speed as it moved upward toward the high ceiling of the gym. "Now stop!" Steven commanded. Beldum suddenly halted, tossing the rock out of its eye socket.

"Geodude, use Defense Curl again!" Clay shouted. Geodude braced itself as Beldum descended once more to the battlefield, its view unobstructed.

"Now Beldum! Use Iron Head!" Steven said.

"Geodude, Rock Polish!" Clay countered.

Beldum shot toward Geodude, but the rock-type easily avoided the attack. Was it faster?

"Beldum, chase Geodude down!" Steven said.

"Geodude, Rock Polish." Clay seemed calm now, almost disappointed.

Geodude easily outsped the steel-type, avoiding its every attack with a grace uncharacteristic to most rock-type Pokémon.

"Gotta think," Steven mumbled to himself. There had to be some way of catching that Geodude, but how? It was so agile at this point, and Beldum simply couldn't keep up. Whenever Beldum chased Geodude to a pile of rocks, the rock-type simply maneuvered around them, leaving Beldum to stop and regain its bearings before continuing the chase.

The rock piles made it impossible for Beldum to successfully corner the opponent. Wait- no, they made it just possible to catch it!

Steven returned his focus to the battle, finding Beldum once again chasing Geodude toward a pile of rocks. "Beldum, use Iron Head on that rock pile!" Steven shouted, feeling excited at his realization.

Geodude bounced effortlessly over the stack of boulders, but Beldum smashed head-on into them, launching them after the rock-type Pokémon, which cried out as several stones struck its body.

"Beldum, use Iron Head again before it can recover!" Steven commanded. Immediately, Beldum raced forward, colliding with Geodude and sending it crashing to the ground. The Geodude struggled to recover, but was unable to do so.

"Great job, Beldum!" Steven said.

"Good work, Geodude," Clay said, returning his Pokémon to its Poké Ball. Replacing the sphere on his belt, Clay tossed out his second Pokémon.

The Pokémon that appeared from the red flash of light was a small, angular rock-type with black splotches over its eyes, which appeared to be shut tight. Tiny limbs sprouted from the head, each having a small hole in either the palm or the foot. Its most noticeable characteristic, however, was its nose, which was disproportionately large, and was red in color, contrasting heavily with the blue coloration of the rest of the body.

"Nosepass," the Pokémon declared, somewhat unexcitedly.

"Nosepass, use Harden!" Clay commanded. Nosepass stood completely still, and the movement along its outer shell was either invisible or didn't occur at all, because Steven couldn't see any movement.

"Beldum, use Iron Head!" Steven shouted.

Beldum's head gave off the familiar gray glow, and shot toward the small blue rock-type, but was stopped in mid-air without warning. In fact, Beldum seemed to be still trying to land its attack, struggling against something. But Steven couldn't see any physical object preventing Beldum from carrying out its orders.

"Rock Throw," Clay commanded.

"Beldum, retreat!" Steven said.

Beldum's tense body seemed to relax slightly as it gave up on the effort and turned to put some distance between it and its opponent. Nosepass lifted up an arm, and fired a small stone from the hole in its palm, which shattered the instant it smashed into Beldum's back. The small steel-type was obviously getting tired, having spent much of its energy chasing down Geodude, and it made its pain known, squinting its eye and uttering a pitiful sound.

"Beldum, come on! You can do it! Iron Head, one more time!" Steven shouted, trying to keep not only Beldum's morale up, but his own. If this attack failed like the last one, Steven would have to think up a new strategy.

"Nosepass, use Harden!" Clay repeated.

Once again, Beldum was repulsed by some force invisible to Steven. Was Nosepass's Harden actually repelling Beldum?

"Nosepass, use Rock Throw," Clay said. Nosepass aimed carefully at Beldum, and fired another rock, which knocked it backwards.

Steven knew he had to figure out a way to fight Nosepass without Beldum being repelled again, and fast. Even though it wasn't a very effective attack, Rock Throw would inevitably whittle down Beldum's energy levels and cost him the battle.

"Rock Throw."

"Beldum, move out of the way!" Steven called.

As Nosepass raised its arm to fire another stone, Beldum dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding the blow.

"Rock Throw, again." Nosepass aimed carefully once more, taking the time to ascertain Beldum's location, and fired another rock.

"Dodge it!" Steven said. Beldum immediately repeated its actions, avoiding Nosepass's attack for a second time.

"Rock Throw." Nosepass concentrated, aiming carefully at Beldum before firing off another attack.

"Move out of the way again!" Beldum dodged a third time.

It seemed to Steven that Nosepass was taking longer to line up its attack each time Beldum moved. And then he saw it- Nosepass itself hadn't changed its position! But why? An idea occurred to him- he didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a shot.

"Beldum, get around to Nosepass's back and try another Iron Head!"

Beldum raced in a wide arc around the rock-type, and Steven could swear he saw Clay flash a smile, if only for a split-second.

Now directly behind its opponent, Beldum lined itself up and executed its attack.

"Nosepass, Harden!" Clay shouted quickly, an instant before Beldum's attack connected with the back of Nosepass's head. The startled Pokémon stumbled forward, and fell onto its side, and struggled to return to its feet.

"Beldum, use Iron Head one more time!" Steven said, now confident and fully in control of the battle.

"Nosepass, Harden!" Clay commanded, trying to preserve his Pokémon, but it was in vain. The attack hit accurately, and Nosepass fell silent.

"Nosepass, great job. Return," Clay said, returning the rock-type to its Poké Ball and then reattaching the sphere to the belt on his waist.

"Yeah! Beldum, that was awesome!" Steven shouted, elated. He approached the defeated Gym Leader, passing Beldum, who followed loyally, hovering over his shoulder.

"That was a great battle, Steven," Clay said. A smile was plastered on his face from ear to ear. He reached out a hand to Steven, who took it firmly in his and shook it.

Roxanne tugged on Clay's jeans. "Daddy, how could you lose?"

"Hush, Roxanne. It's okay," Clay told his young daughter. He looked up at Steven, reached into his pocket, and produced the same stylized rectangle that Wallace had shown him earlier in the day. "This is the Stone Badge. It allows your Pokémon to use the move Cut outside of battle, if they can manage to learn it, that is." Clay chuckled to himself.

"Thanks, Clay," Steven said, taking the badge and shoving it into his pocket.

"Now let me see your Trainer Card."

"My what?" Steven said.

"Your permit. In official Pokémon League institutions, your Trainer's Permit is known as your Trainer Card. They're the same thing," Clay explained. "The nurses at Pokémon Centers just tend to call them permits."

"Oh, okay," Steven said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. He thumbed out the laminated card and handed it to Clay, who took it and reached into his other pocket, and brought out a small metal hole-puncher. He clipped a hole in the first of a series of squares along the bottom of the card, in the shape of the badge.

"Let it be known that you, Steven Stone, have defeated me, Clay of Rustboro Gym. I have to say, I thought you were simply going to use your type advantage alone to defeat me, rather than strategy. That's what another young man who came in yesterday did. His Feebas defeated both Geodude and Nosepass fairly handily, but displayed an utter lack of strategy. There are just some situations when you have to think creatively to win."

"Thanks, again," Steven said, taking his card back from the Gym Leader. "I gotta ask though- how did Harden keep Beldum from hitting Nosepass?"

Clay chuckled. "Harden only increases a Pokémon's physical defenses. That force that kept your Beldum away was just Nosepass's magnetic nose. It repulsed the metal in your Beldum, keeping it from striking. When you went around to Nosepass's back, Beldum's attacks did increased damage because Beldum was attracted to the opposite end of the magnet. Nosepass's magnet is so strong that it can only face north, but I had high concentrations of metallic alloys embedded in the rock maze so that Nosepass could face its opponents."

"Wow. I never would have thought about something like that." Steven paused for a moment, thinking about his next move. "Where should I go from here?"

Clay paused for a moment. "Well, first you should heal Beldum at a Pokémon Center. After that, you have two options: you can go to Petalburg City, where the gym is headed by Christina, who uses grass-types, or you could head to Dewford Town, where the gym is led by Silva, who uses fighting-types. You'll have to find a boat to get to Dewford, though."

"Okay. Thanks for everything, Clay," Steven said, turning to leave the gym with Beldum in tow.

"And Steven!"

"Yes?" Steven said, turning around.

"Be careful out there! Your father may seem imposing, but he cares about you a lot," Clay answered.

Steven nodded. "All right. I will!" And with that, Steven departed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Forest A-Go-Go**

Steven passed eagerly through the front door of the Pokémon Center in Rustboro City, greeted by the friendly lights of the ornate chandeliers above. He strode to the counter, and presented his Trainer Card proudly. He returned Beldum to its Poké Ball and handed it to the nurse, who placed it on the healing machine.

"Steven Stone?" the nurse asked.

"Yeah, that's me," Steven said.

"I have a letter for you," she said, reaching under the table and handing a pure white envelope to him.

He tore the envelope open, and unfolded the letter inside. It read:

"Steven,

I apologize sincerely for allowing you to embarrass yourself in such a manner earlier today, and I do hope that you will not be cross with me when you return, but I knew that you would never leave on your own, without some outside prodding. You just aren't happy at home, and I know you'd be much more satisfied outside in the real world. Your father cares deeply about you, whether you believe it or not. He just wants you to be safe. But you are strong. Strong enough to survive on your own, and I hope that you are successful in proving that to him. I wish you only the best in your travels.

Best Wishes,

Jacques."

Steven smiled. So then it was Jacques all along...

He glanced up at the nurse, who handed him back Beldum's Poké Ball. "Thank you, ma'am," he said gratefully.

"You're welcome," the nurse replied, returning the boy's grin.

Steven turned and left the Pokémon Center. He glanced at his watch. "4:17". Just under three quarters of an hour until his father left the office. He had just under an hour to leave the city and get safely into the Petalburg Woods. He increased his pace, jogging along the side of the road, hearing the gravel crunching under his feet.

He passed blocks of houses, and children playing in the streets, the older kids wary of any oncoming vehicles that might interrupt their games. He envied them, in truth. As a child, Steven never really had any friends he could play with. He stayed cooped up in the house at all times, unless his tutor was giving physical education instruction, and even then, he always stayed on the grounds, usually in the maze.

He had always longed for someone to play with, but his social wishes were never granted, even if he received everything else he desired, and more. He couldn't count how many bad sweaters or cheap toys he received every birthday.

He shook off the thought, and turned his attention ahead of him. Not far ahead, the stony path terminated, being replaced by a heavily-trodden dirt road that led to a serene blue lake. A series of wooden fixed pontoons bridged the lake, and the dirt road continued on the opposite side, leading off into the forest. Blooming flowers swayed gently in the light breeze.

Steven was immediately taken by the beauty of the area. He breathed in the fragrant scent of the dancing flowers. The sunlight pranced across the undulating surface of the lake.

"Hey, Steven!" called someone to Steven's right.

He turned to see Wallace strolling toward him from nearby a patch of soil, holding something in his hand. He waved back.

"I just got a Wailmer Pail from the Pretty Petal Flower Shop," he said, indicating the dark blue item in his hand. "I can use it to water berry trees all across Hoenn!"

"What do you need berries for? I thought you were trying to make your Feebas evolve," Steven said.

"Well, yeah," Wallace said. "I heard that dry berries can help make your Pokémon more beautiful."

"I don't see how," Steven said, voicing his doubts.

"Well, either way, I'll find a way to make Feebas beautiful!" Wallace declared excitedly.

Steven paused for a moment. "Where are you headed?"

"I don't know," Wallace answered. "I guess I'm going to Verdanturf Town... I just wish they'd hurry up with that tunnel."

"They'll be working on that tunnel for years." Steven chuckled.

"Do you know how I can get there?" Wallace asked.

"Uh, yeah," Steven said. "Hold on." He swung his backpack around to his side and reached into the side pocket and retrieved his map. He traced the routes with his index finger, and located a way to the small town. "You'll have to cross water at Route 103, but if you go through the Petalburg Woods, to Petalburg City, then to Oldale, north up Route 103 and across the inlet to Route 110, you'll come out just south of Mauville City, so you should go north on Cycling Road, and then from Mauville west to Verdanturf."

"Uh..." Wallace said. "That's a long way... You're taking the Gym Challenge, right? There's a gym in Petalburg City, so why don't we stick together until then?"

Steven pondered this for a moment. He'd never really traveled with anyone before, but it was probably better to traverse the forest in a group. Two heads were better than one, after all. "Sure. Why not?"

"Let's get going, then!" Wallace said, turning and walking down the bridge.

Steven strode alongside his new friend, watching the lake pass by beneath him. He saw a red-scaled Magikarp come close to the surface, then dive deep again. A round blue Marill floated lazily on the surface of the water, pushed along by the wind. A Wingull dipped its tiny beak into the water as it flew by, swallowing down a beak-full of water, drops streaming from its white wings. A brown and tan-patterned Zigzagoon raced through the tall grass and came to a stop at the lakeshore, lapping at the wavy surface.

Before he knew it, Steven had stepped back onto dry land, and he looked ahead at the looming forest. Trees reached high up toward the sky longingly, growing together tightly, obscuring the interior of the forest. The friendly green grass on either side of the beaten path marched on into the unknown.

The dirt path ended abruptly at a hole in the living wall of wood and green. Wallace stopped, hesitating to continue. He turned to look at Steven. "Why don't you lead the way?" he suggested, failing to cover up his nervousness.

"Okay," Steven sighed, passing Wallace.

The Petalburg Woods seemed to stretch on forever. Patches of sun shone through to the ground, but most of the light was blocked by the multitudes of branches that criss-crossed in intricate chaotic patterns up above. Steven saw a Slakoth move one of its long limbs slowly to scratch its nose up on a tree branch.

Wallace followed closely behind him, hands drawn up and folded together in front of his chest.

A muffled sound came from up ahead, somewhere along the winding grassy path through the forest. A Pokémon cried out.

Steven and Wallace glanced at one another, and immediately ran toward the sound. They came to a ledge, and dropped immediately to the ground. Steven silently released Beldum from its Poké Ball. The Pokémon seemed to sense something was wrong, so it kept silent.

Below, two men wearing long, flowing maroon and purple cloaks conversed lowly. One's boots showed tooth marks. A Poochyena cowered near the two men, obviously hurt. The furry gray Pokémon shivered fearfully, burying its black snout under its paws.

"Beldum," Steven whispered harshly, preparing to send out a counterattack.

One of the men reached out a hand and restrained the other as he approached the Poochyena to deliver another kick. "Relax. It's just peeved you intruded on its territory."

The second man grunted angrily. "It bit me."

"So? It didn't get in the way of our search. Leave it alone. Our mission's done. We need to get back to base. Isis won't be happy if she finds out we've been wasting time hurting Pokémon."

"Just one kick, I promise. That'll satisfy me _and_ put the little rat out of its misery. Besides, it's not like she runs the whole shebang!"

"Beldum," Steven hissed again, but Wallace laid a restraining hand on his shoulder, and pointed.

Steven glanced up just in time to see a young girl sail in on a vine, cracking a whip with one hand. From the Poké Ball attached to the end of the whip, a steely gray bird Pokémon shot out, whistling over the two men's heads.

"Skarmory, use Aerial Ace!" the girl commanded. Skarmory immediately obeyed, circling back toward the two men and swooping down at them. The men ducked and held their arms above their hands, barely avoiding the silver-bladed wings of the Pokémon.

In fright, the two men collided and collapsed to the ground. One managed to summon a white and blue Pokémon with a tapered head. The other sent out a small brown Pokémon that resembled a top.

"Skarmory, use Aerial Ace on Meditite!" the girl said, dropping from the vine and landing lightly on her feet.

"Go, Feebas!" Wallace called, tossing his own Poké Ball into the battle. "Use Water Pulse on that Baltoy!"

Wallace's Feebas flopped around feebly for a moment below them at the base of the ledge, before standing still, concentrating on the water that had poured from his Poké Ball. As the girl's fierce flying-type approached its blue and white target, water began to well up around Feebas's body, and it flowed forward gracefully, drenching the tiny Baltoy, which flailed its thin curved arms and fell to the ground.

The Skarmory slammed into the Meditite, which was instantly rendered unable to battle. Its trainer returned it to its Poké Ball, and the two men retreated into the thick foliage.

Wallace and Steven jumped down from their position on the ledge, revealing themselves to the girl. She was dressed in a light blue leotard with yellow cuffs on the legs and white pants. She brushed some dirt off of her white long-sleeved undershirt, and offered her hand.

"Thank you for your help," she said. Wallace took her hand and shook it emphatically.

"Hi, my name's Wallace. That's my Feebas," Wallace blurted.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Winona. My dad's the Fortree City Gym Leader," she said, pulling her hand out of Wallace's. She turned to address Steven, who shook her hand graciously. "And you are?"

"I'm Steven," he said, again hiding his surname. She looked about the same age as Wallace. He guessed thirteen or fourteen. "What kind of Pokémon is that?" he asked, indicating the bird Pokémon, which was now perched on a nearby low-hanging branch.

"Oh. That's Skarmory. It's half flying-type, half steel-type. I figured it worked best for this situation, because my Swablu gets distracted easily."

Wallace broke in between Steven and Winona, and the girl's face grew flustered. She brushed a lock of light purple hair out of her eyes and adjusted the pilot's cap on her head, which was identical in color to her leotard.

"So you're from Fortree? I'm from Sootopolis, myself. I'm Juan's number one student!" Wallace bragged, more dramatically than he'd done for Steven earlier in the day. Winona rolled her eyes.

"Okay, that's cool," she said, apparently uninterested.

"So, listen, I'm headed to Verdanturf to take part in the Normal-rank Pokémon Contest there. If you're going back to Fortree, I could escort you there."

"Uh, no thanks," Winona said, putting up a hand. "I'm fine on my own."

"Are you sure? Master Juan's a Contest Master, and he told me I will be one someday, too!"

Steven rolled his eyes behind Wallace.

"I can fly back on my Skarmory," Winona said. "Besides, I need to get back to my dad as soon as possible. I have to tell him about those goons. I think he mentioned something about Juan sending out one of his students to investigate, too, and that would be you, right?"

"Yeah," Wallace said. He nodded.

"Then you should report back to him. He'll want to know about this."

"About what?" Wallace asked, oblivious.

"About those idiots!" Winona shouted, on the verge of exasperation. "About those Millennium goons."

"Millennium goons?" Steven broke in, shoving Wallace out of the way. Wallace stumbled backwards a few steps, then fell silent, red-faced.

"Yeah. Apparently, these guys have been sighted all around this area, searching caves and forests for something. I don't know what, though. The Pokémon League is on high alert right now."

"What could possibly get the Pokémon League so scared?" Steven asked.

"It's probably nothing, but they want to be sure nothing comes of it," Winona answered. She seemed to adopt a totally different manner when talking to Steven. She seemed calmer.

"Well, we should at least get out of this forest," Steven suggested.

"You're right," Winona agreed. "Just follow me. And don't make a sound. More of those guys might be lurking around, waiting for us because we just curb-stomped two of their friends."

"Right," Steven and Wallace said together.

The three turned toward the east, following the curving path through the forest.

Unseen by any of them, the tiny Baltoy struggled to its pointed foot, and weakly began to follow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: A Minor Setback**

Steven winced as a dried twig snapped beneath Wallace's ill-placed foot. He shifted his gaze in several directions, scanning the area for any sign of the goons they'd just stomped or their friends. Winona shot the trainer from Sootopolis a look that could melt steel, and he immediately froze.

Winona stood still for a few moments, closing her eyes and listened intently for any responding noises. Finally satisfied, she put a fierce finger to her lips, and turned and continued forward cautiously. Wallace stepped carefully this time, testing the ground before putting his weight on his forward foot. Steven followed closely behind, matching his predecessors' steps.

They passed silently between trees, staying just off the main path through the forest, slipping beneath limbs, sliding behind vines, slowly progressing as time marched on.

The woods seemed to go on forever to Steven, perhaps straight to the ocean, if he didn't know any better. He could easily imagine the wall of trees standing like gargoyles against the full fury of a hurricane, stoic and unmoving, but slowly eroding away. He suddenly felt uncomfortable, realizing that he was in the middle of a forest, with Rustboro City- with home- somewhere far behind him.

Suddenly, a branch snapped in the distance ahead, almost like a gunshot. Winona's hand instinctively rose to her shoulder and clenched into a fist. Wallace obediently halted, as did Steven.

Another snap. A footstep.

Another footstep. Coming from the path.

Winona pointed emphatically with her index finger, indicating that she wanted to surprise whoever was approaching.

She pointed her index finger upward. One. Next was the middle finger. Two. Then the ring finger, and the three sprang from their hiding place, and groaned when they laid their eyes upon a brown Pokémon with a short moustache and a long, bushy tail that swayed with each step. Darker brown stripes accented its fur.

"Oh, it's only a Kadabra," Wallace sighed.

"Only... a Kadabra?" a voice chided.

Winona gasped, and a cloud of smoke erupted behind the Kadabra, which was now staring emotionlessly at the trainers.

The smoke cleared, revealing the same two goons from earlier, as well as a few more. In the center of the group was a tall, lean woman with long, flowing black hair and tanned skin. She wore a lengthy white gown with gold embroidered along the edges of the fabric, and a golden sash around her waist. Two pieces, one red, short, hollow cylinder, and a tall, tapered white cone with a sphere on the tip, formed an odd yet elegant headdress.

"This is the Kadabra belonging to Isis, goddess of Team Millennium," the woman warned, the same, emotionless look plastered on her perfectly-formed face. "Interfere no further or you will face my wrath."

"I won't back down," Winona declared, taking a staunch step forward. Wallace was immediately behind her, a stern, determined look on his face. Steven stepped beside the girl.

"Neither will I," Steven said.

"Grunts! Test them!" Isis commanded coldly.

Immediately, three of the grunts stepped forward to challenge them. The one on the left sent out a red spherical rock-type Pokémon with squinting black eyes and red pupils, and yellow limb-like extensions. The one on the right sent out a crescent-shaped white Pokémon with red eyes amidst a black crater, and a white beak-like extension between the crescent's arms. The final grunt sent out a small green bird with tiny red wings and spindly red feet, a red tail and a single red feather at the top of its head. It squawked, opening its miniscule yellow beak.

"Go, Beldum!" Steven shouted, releasing his trusted steel-type onto the field. Wallace and Winona followed suit, Wallace sending out a Marill and Winona unleashing a blue spherical bird-like Pokémon with a white beak and and white cloud-like wings.

"Swablu, use Astonish on Lunatone!" Winona commanded, indicating the crescent Pokémon.

Steven's attention was drawn to the grunt in front of him an instant later. "Solrock, use Fire Spin on that Beldum!"

"Beldum, use Iron Head!" Steven countered. Beldum zipped through a spiral of fire spewed forth from the Pokémon's yellow limbs, and crashing into the strange rock-type, which was sent tumbling backwards onto the ground. Flames licked at the long grass, singing the blades, but the recent rains left the forest damp enough to avoid being inflamed.

"Beldum, get back!" Steven said, just as the prancing flames washed over Beldum's face, causing the small steel-type to cry out in pain.

A spray of water quenched the flames and thoroughly doused Solrock. Steven, surprised, looked up to see Wallace giving him the thumbs-up, and then directing his Marill to perform another attack against the diminutive Natu in front of him.

Steven looked back over to see the Solrock struggle to regain its balance. Beldum darted over to him, both pained and frightened, and another spiral of fire slithered its way through the air like a serpent. Steven wrapped Beldum in his arms and knelt down and could feel the heat of the flames that were wrapping themselves around him. He clutched his precious Pokémon and in that moment knew that it had all been a lie- Jacques had known he wouldn't make it on his own, and had just been planning to get rid of him- and that it was all over.

Not feeling the searing pain of the attack, Steven allowed his eyes to open and his gaze to travel upwards. A purple dome around him blocked the murderous attack, which quickly ceased. The glowing translucent walls faded, and he saw Isis looking at him. "It is not our goal for you to be killed. Team Millennium is here to save the human race, not destroy it. Even a single life is precious."

"Ka-dabra," the woman's Pokémon punctuated.

Steven decided he didn't have time to wonder what the woman's motives were, and immediately launched his Pokémon toward his opponents, thrusting with all of his strength. "IRON HEAD!" he bellowed.

Beldum's head glowed silver, and he slammed into the Solrock, sending it again to the ground. This time, it didn't get back up. Its trainer returned it to its capsule, and Steven looked over to see the other two grunts defeated and doing the same.

"Now, you face Isis," the woman declared, stepping forward as the defeated grunts stepped back. "Kadabra, Psybeam."

The brown psychic-type stepped forward and shut its eyes tight. A purple beam of energy fired from its forehead, sending all three Pokémon to the ground. Wallace's Marill struggled to find its feet, and Winona quickly ordered her Swablu to retreat back to its Poké Ball, and replaced it with her Skarmory.

"Skarmory! Sand Attack!" Winona called. The fierce steel-type dove toward the ground and flapped its wings, kicking up a cloud of debris that flew into Kadabra's eyes, obscuring its vision.

"Kadabra does not need to see to attack. He can see with his mind's eye. Psybeam," Isis commanded coolly.

"Beldum, use Iron Head while Kadabra's distracted," Steven whispered to his Pokémon.

Winona's Skarmory was knocked out of the air by Kadabra's attack, but Beldum continued its brave assault.

Isis shifted her attention to the approaching Beldum, and Kadabra immediately put up a similar wall to the one it had constructed around Steven just moments ago. Beldum crashed into this barrier, and bounced back toward its trainer.

Wallace recalled his Marill and replaced it with Feebas. "Water Pulse!" he shouted.

Feebas pulled its eyes shut tight, the water leaking out of the plants around him and building up around his body.

Kadabra launched another attack at the water-type, but Winona's Skarmory intercepted, taking the brunt of the attack.

"Winona! Don't let Skarmory get too tired!" Steven called. "It's our best chance of beating that thing!"

"It's fine, Steven! Skarmory's resistant to psychic-types!" Winona reminded him.

"Now, Feebas! Attack!" Wallace shouted. A different barrier replaced the first as the blob of water sailed through the air toward Kadabra. The attack splashed down over the barrier, not touching the psychic-type inside.

"Now! Aerial Ace!" Winona directed.

"Iron Head!"

Beldum and Skarmory bore down on their target determinedly, not noticing the tiny exhausted Baltoy that clambered up between Beldum and Kadabra.

But then Isis countered. "Shock Wave."

Kadabra held out its single spoon in front of itself calmly, and several bolts of electricity crackled out of it, arcing toward Beldum, Skarmory, and Feebas.

"NO!" all three trainers cried out. Skarmory and Feebas were instantly knocked out. The Baltoy absorbed some of the attack meant for Beldum, but Steven's steel-type took heavy damage. Steven rushed up to his Pokémon, which was frozen in mid-air, and wrapped it in his arms.

"Now, Kadabra, Teleport them all randomly inside this forest," Isis commanded coldly.

The world spun, Steven tumbled around, clutching Beldum in his arms, and there was screaming, but Steven didn't know if it was him or someone else. The cacophony made him want to let go of Beldum and cover his ears, but he just knew that if he let go, he'd never be able to find it again. He felt something tugging at his shoe, but he kept his eyes shut tight and didn't look.

Then everything stopped. Steven opened his eyes and laid Beldum down on the grass. But, wait- that wasn't grass! Those are leaves.

Steven felt a chill as he gazed down and realized how high up he was in a tree. He let out a frustrated cry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: To Petalburg!**

Steven could not believe this! One minute, they were almost winning the battle, and the next he was nauseatingly high up in a tree somewhere in the Petalburg Woods. Beldum groaned weakly on a thick cluster of leaves nearby.

And another noise made Steven look at his feet.

Clutching his shoe, an injured Baltoy struggled to push itself back up to its foot.

"Oh, no! That must be that goon's Baltoy!" Steven said to himself, suddenly realizing that the owner of the Pokémon, one of the Team Millennium grunts that Winona and Wallace had defeated so handily, had never returned it to its Poké Ball. Steven knew it was probably dangerously low on energy. He reached out a hand, grabbing the Baltoy's thin midsection. The Pokémon jerked away, falling back to the bed of leaves it and Steven were resting on.

"It's okay, I just want to help you," Steven promised. The Baltoy flopped limply an inch or two in the opposite direction of the boy's out-stretched hand.

"Okay, then. I guess this won't be as easy as I was hoping..."

Steven sighed audibly. He glanced at his watch, hoping it would still be functioning. It said "6:23". Steven looked up and could see bits and pieces of the sky through scattered holes in the forest's canopy. It was a periwinkle color, and was slowly darkening. Soon it would be night, and Steven really did not want to be stuck in this place overnight.

"Stay here," he said to neither Pokémon in particular; he wasn't sure Baltoy could muster the energy to move enough to endanger itself, and Beldum, suffering from paralysis, surely wouldn't be able to move at all.

Slowly, holding one arm out for balance and gripping a nearby branch, Steven rose to his feet, which he shifted continuously, uncertain of his footing. Now stable, he reached with his balancing hand to a thick limb, his other hand following close behind, and, gripping the branch with all the strength he could muster, swung one leg up onto the limb. He pulled himself over the limb, grimacing as his weight shifted over a sensitive part of his body, and sat upright on top of the branch.

He huffed. The air was stifling, and he felt like he was breathing into a sponge inside this forest. The process of rising, gripping, pulling up and rising again continued on for several more cycles, and, finally, arms burning and skin scraped, Steven pulled himself high enough to see out over the rest of the forest, and realized just how lucky he was to have landed in such a tall tree.

The sky was cast in magenta and caramel, and a dark blue in the east. The sun hovered serenely just above the western horizon. A light wind blew out of the south, and Steven shivered and the hairs on his body stood erect and goosebumps erupted across his skin. He knew well that electric feeling carried on the wind. He glanced southward; yes, a tropical storm was approaching, and he judged it to be falling across Dewford Town about now. It would be here soon.

Steven cautiously lowered himself down the path of branches he'd mapped out in his brain on the way up. He felt almost like a Slakoth, but not quite as slow, nor quite as elegant at living arboreally.

In half the time he'd taken to climb up, however, he'd made it back to his nest of sorts. He planted himself firmly on the main branch, and crossed his legs. He gave it a moment's thought, and returned Beldum to its Poké Ball, and reattached the sphere to his belt.

He reached over to Baltoy, which made a pitiful attempt at evading Steven's grip. The boy's fingers wove tightly around the ground-type's midsection, and he carefully brought the Pokémon toward himself.

Baltoy struggled in vain; it was too weak to escape anymore.

Clutching the tiny top-like Pokémon to his chest with one hand, Steven slowly began the descent to the forest floor, glancing down to find the next branch to hold his weight, stepping down with the appropriate foot, leaning forward against the rough tree trunk, transferring his grip, and stepping with his other foot, and then repeating the cycle.

Slowly, foot over foot, meter by meter, Steven made his way down the tree, Baltoy struggling all the way. It seemed to Steven to take hours, and his arms screamed with the effort. His body seemed to be telling him to stop, to rest, but the rumble of thunder from the distance told his mind to press onward, or he'd never be able to get out of this forest.

Slowly, slowly he climbed, speeding up at times, only to almost slip and freeze, slowing down again. Foot over foot, meter by meter, branch by branch, thunder rolling high above, forest whispering all around, Steven descended. "Bal..." the tiny Pokémon managed, pushing weakly against Steven's ribs, but the boy held fast to the Pokémon.

At last, his foot touched the damp, grassy ground. He breathed a sigh of relief, and stopped for a moment, catching his breath, but continued to hold Baltoy close. He started west down the path again.

Thunder rumbled more closely now. Steven quickened his pace, breathing hard. Soon he came to a group of several small trees that had grown in the path, effectively forming a blockade to Steven's path. He cried out in frustration, and quickly spun on his heel and followed the path in the opposite direction.

The wind continued to whisper in the foliage, soon building to a hiss, like a Seviper hidden away in the tall grass, awaiting its prey. The path ahead edged south, before being interrupted by a ledge. Steven hesitated to jump, and instead slowly lowered himself down the six-foot drop, clutching at the higher ground with his free arm, fingers leaving narrow trenches in the ground as he slid.

He dropped the last foot or so and hit the ground running, south, then zigging west, now zagging south, his feet padding on the soft ground, ignoring wild Pokémon that approached. Now another ledge, and the exit was directly ahead. Steven sprinted forward with all his might, his calves alternating between rubber and rock, and erupted into a clearing.

He stopped, gasping at the humid air. To his right, he saw a modest cottage, with a dock and a shiny new boat moored at the dock, rocking in the dark upset water. The tropical storm was advancing up Route 105, the sea route connecting Route 104, Steven's current location, with the remote Dewford Town. A few islands littering the waterway were visible, but the main island of Dewford was veiled behind a thick gray sheet of rain. A massive wave surged up onto the sandy beach, carrying the outer layer of sand with it, stripping away the hiding places of several red-shelled Corphish, who scuttled into the ocean, seeking shelter in deeper waters.

Steven inhaled as much air as he could manage, and sprinted off on unsteady legs, not seeing the final ledge until it was too late; Steven leapt high into the air, flailing his legs and free arm, and crashed, rolling across the lower ground. Baltoy skidded across the grassy earth.

Steven bit his lower lip as he tested his ankle. It hurt, but he absolutely had to keep on. All of the curtains in the cottage were closed, and it was impossible to tell if the residents were home. Besides, Steven doubted they'd have a healing machine.

Steven dipped, taking Baltoy in both arms, and half-ran, half-limped eastward, coming upon another packed-earth path, similar to the one on the opposite side of the forest. A spidery web of lightning illuminated the sky brilliantly for a split-second, before the ominous growl of thunder passed over the area, urging him onward.

The pain flared up his leg with each step, but he pressed on, feeling the faint heartbeat of the Baltoy pressed against his chest along with his own. "Bal...?" it croaked.

Steven could see buildings up ahead: houses, positioned in rows along the path, which was paved up ahead. Soon, the familiar crunch of loose gravel greeted his ears, mixing with the sound of no-longer-so-distant thunder.

A red sign with a "P" marked on it and a white arrow pointing south stood on a corner ahead of Steven, indicating the location of Petalburg City's Pokémon Center. Steven turned at the corner, immediately recognizing the red roof rising above the houses nearby. He made another turn, heading eastward again, and slowed as he approached the large building. He pushed through the doors, and was greeted by the friendly, warm light of the lamps hanging above.

He saw people lounging around lazily, sitting at the numerous tables arranged neatly in groups to either side of the doors, reading newspapers or speaking with one another. Steven ignored them and walked up to the nurse at the counter.

"Can I help you?" she asked, concern penetrating her tone.

"This Baltoy needs help. It's not mine- some goon left it behind in the forest," Steven pleaded.

"Okay!" the nurse said, taking the Baltoy from Steven's arms and disappearing through a swinging white door with a red cross on it. Steven waited at the counter, impatiently drumming his fingers on the cool surface.

A few moments later, the nurse reappeared. "It's good that you got it here in time. It wouldn't have lasted too much longer, especially in that storm. What were you doing out there anyway? The police gave orders to take shelter an hour ago!"

Steven glanced at his watch. "7:18". He was surprised to see just how much time had passed since he'd left that day, even since he'd left the tree, although it felt like it had been several days at this point.

"I got lost..." Steven managed.

"Okay, but be more careful next time."

"By the way, I need my own Pokémon healed," Steven said, detaching the Poké Ball from his belt and presenting it.

"Okay, can I see your identification?" the nurse asked, taking the sphere from the boy. Steven reached into his back pocket, producing his wallet, and pulled out the laminated card. "Okay," the nurse said, placing the ball on the machine. Steven replaced the card in his wallet, and his wallet inside his pocket, and seconds later, the nurse returned his Poké Ball.

"Do you need a place to stay?" she asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Steven answered.

"Okay." The nurse turned to her computer and tapped in a few keys, then reached into a cabinet below the monitor, and brought out a key marked with a "4".

"Just go up the stairs. Your room is on the right side of the hall. There aren't many trainers in room four, so you should have plenty of space," the nurse instructed.

"Thanks," Steven said, taking the key. "What's going to happen to Baltoy?"

"We'll find someone to take it to the Route 111 desert, unless its trainer shows up tonight," the nurse answered.

"Okay," Steven said, somewhat disappointed with the answer. He hesitated, feeling drawn by exhaustion to the hostel upstairs, but simultaneously rooted to the floor by his concern for the tiny ground-type.

"Can- can I, uh, take it?" he asked.

The nurse smiled at him. "Sure."

Steven nodded, and then slowly drifted up the stairs toward his room.

The room was longer than it was wide, with five sets of bunk beds against opposite walls. There was a large gap between the beds spaced around the doorway, and another directly opposite that, leading to the bathroom. Steven located an empty bunk and clambered onto it, and collapsed onto the creaking mattress.

He laid there on his stomach, staring at the wall, for a few minutes, just thinking. Where were Wallace and Winona? Were they okay? What of Team Millennium? Where had they gone? Would they show up here? What did they want, anyway? Isis had said something about saving the human race, but from what? And how?

The tantalizing aroma of cooking food drifted to Steven's nostrils from downstairs. He could just hear the sound of something sizzling in a pan. He rolled over and sat up, let his backpack's straps slip from his shoulders, and dropped to the floor tiredly.

He returned to the main lobby, finding a line of people woven between metal rails. A long counter with holes occupied by deep, open containers laden with rice, with pasta, with tofu, and with more kinds of vegetables than Steven had seen in his life. He almost immediately found himself standing at the back of the line, gazing hungrily at the food.

The scent meandered through the air, tickling his taste buds. He felt his mouth begin to water.

"-even! Steven!" someone called, jerking Steven out of his stupor. He whirled around, finding Wallace standing right behind him. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt now, and had rolled his jacket into a ball and held it under his arm. Red, brown, and green spots dotted what seemed to be the area around the zipper.

"Wallace? What happened?" Steven asked, indicating the jacket.

"Oh, this? I, uh... I threw up," Wallace admitted, turning red in embarrassment. He quickly recovered. "What happened to you? Winona and I scoured the forest, searching high and low for you, but we couldn't find you anywhere."

"I ended up on the blocked-off side of the woods," Steven explained. "I'll tell you over dinner. By the way, where's Winona?"

"She flew off on her Skarmory after getting her team healed," Wallaced replied flatly. "She said something about reporting back to her father."

"I hope she gets far enough away from the storm," Steven said. He noticed that heavy drops of rain were now drumming tirelessly at the glass doors. The world outside brightened for a moment, apparently by lightning, and darkened again. A few seconds later, thunder growled lowly.

"Yeah, me too," Wallace said, gazing out the door with a concerned look.

Wallace turned and walked to an empty table, and sat down. A few minutes later, Steven sat down opposite him with a a tray covered in macaroni, rice cakes, tofu steaks, and a glass of water. With his other hand, he placed a bowl of tiny, dry brown spheres- Pokéchow- on the table next to his tray. He released Beldum from its Poké Ball, and the two began to eat.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Sour Taste of Defeat**

The rain drummed ceaselessly against the windows, the roof, the outer walls, and, Steven knew, the front door of the Pokémon Center. Crackled against the broad, waxy green leaves that coated the Hoenn region's vast wilderness. Satisfied the thirst of the land and brought vivacity back into life.

Steven yawned and stretched sleepily, sliding himself out from beneath the plain navy covers of his bunk, and clambered to the bathroom, taking a quick shower.

He dressed and returned to retrieve his toiletries from his backpack, and brushed his teeth and tamed his messy bedhead. When he returned once more to the main dormitory, he found his bunk had been remade with new sheets, no doubt by the nurse or one of her assistants. Did Pokémon Centers have housekeeping?

Steven shrugged off the thought, attached Beldum's Poké Ball to his belt, shouldered his backpack, and started toward the door.

He was stopped by a deep snoring. He glanced around the room, and saw Wallace laying fast asleep on his back, limbs hanging limply from his bunk, covers bunched around him and blowing in the air conditioning. Steven chuckled quietly to himself, and ducked out into the hallway.

Steven swiftly descended the staircase and joined the breakfast line.

Moments later, Steven sat down at an empty table and sat down his tray. He looked over the two fried eggs and several strips of bacon, substitute of course, and the biscuits and pancakes. He reached for the bottle of syrup in the middle of the tabletop and thoroughly drenched the flat cakes and returned it to its original position. He grabbed his fork and politely cut a slice from one egg and placed it in his mouth.

He was about halfway through his second pancake- the eggs were both already gone- when the nurse approached him and held Baltoy out in front of her.

"So, it's all better?" Steven asked.

"It's fine," the nurse reassured him. "Now, can I count on you to return this Pokémon to its natural habitat?"

"Yes, ma'am," Steven answered promptly.

The nurse turned Baltoy in her hands. "Can I count on you to behave yourself?"

"Bal..." the small ground-type muttered.

The nurse sighed and sat Baltoy carefully on the table next to Steven's tray and then walked back to her counter.

"Hi, Baltoy. My name's Steven. I know I'm not your trainer, but he just left you behind in the forest, and you were really hurt, so I brought you here," Steven said.

Baltoy simply turned away.

Steven sighed. "Well, at least I tried..." he muttered, before returning to his breakfast.

He thought about what he would do next. Since Wallace would be leaving for Verdanturf soon, Steven decided he'd go along with him to Route 103, just to make sure he got across to Route 110 safely. That was settled. But what about Petalburg's Gym Leader? Could Steven defeat her quickly enough that Wallace wouldn't be delayed? Steven didn't want to inconvenience anybody, especially since Wallace was the first friend Steven had made so far during his journey.

What had Clay said about the Gym Leader, anyway? Wasn't her name Crista or something? Steven thought Clay had said she used grass-types, but he wasn't sure. If that was true, he shouldn't have much trouble, since his steel-type Beldum resisted grass-type moves, and quite a few grass-types were also part poison-type, and the poison-type is weak against the psychic-type, and Beldum _was_ part psychic-type...

Steven decided he'd go to the gym after breakfast. If all went well, he'd have plenty of time before lunch, and he and Wallace could leave afterward.

"I see you have already commenced your meal!" Wallace said, gesturing grandly and bringing Steven back to the real world.

Steven looked up and smiled broadly at Wallace's showmanship.

"Yeah, I was hoping to challenge the gym before we left," Steven said.

"Christina? You shouldn't have much trouble. She's strong, but she uses grass-types," Wallace replied, confirming Steven's thoughts.

"That's great!" Steven said.

Wallace sat down, placing his tray near Baltoy, and introduced himself to the tiny Pokémon. Baltoy just turned away as it had done with Steven. Maybe it remembered Wallace's Feebas dousing it. Steven didn't know if that was true, but he thought it was at least possible.

As Baltoy sulked, the two boys finished off their breakfast and took care of their trays, dumping the trash into large, heavy plastic trash cans, setting their silverware in the proper bins, and laying their trays on a conveyor belt that took the trays through a small window to the kitchen, where they would be washed.

As they passed the table, Steven beckoned to Baltoy and smiled at it, trying to encourage it to join him. Baltoy grumbled, but hopped off the table, apparently realizing that Steven was its one ticket back to the desert.

The group exited the Pokémon Center wordlessly, the rain dripping all around them. Baltoy danced precariously, trying in vain to avoid the drops.

Steven remembered passing the gym during his dash to the Pokémon Center the day before. He led Wallace and Baltoy west, down the street running in front of the Center, and then north, straight toward the gym.

Though the outside was completely normal- off-white building with a tan roof and the red "GYM" sign bolt into the concrete next to the glass double-doors. But inside, the gym was almost completely covered in growth. Trees, shrubs, flowers, and even grasses from all over the Hoenn region were planted and arranged in neat patterns in the gym's entrance chamber. Vines had slithered up around the Salamence statues, partially obscuring the name of the last winning challenger, which, much like the statues in Rustboro's gym, read, "Jo-"

A woman dressed in worn denim jeans with dirt-caked knees, wrinkled and dirty tennis shoes, a green t-shirt, a yellow kerchief with white polka-dots worn on her head to hold back her brown hair, which hung out the back of the cloth, and yellow leather gloves greeted them. She pulled off her gloves and extended a hand, first to Steven, who gripped it firmly and shook it, and then to Wallace, who laid his hand in hers like a dead fish and let her do the shaking. The woman's brow furrowed momentarily at Wallace's handshake, but she quickly recovered.

"My name is Christina, and I am the Gym Leader here in Petalburg City. Many come here with the belief that they can mow down my grass-type Pokémon due to their numerous weaknesses. However, only one so far has prevailed. Which of you is here to accept my challenge?" she asked.

Steven stepped forward, and Wallace stepped back. "I am Steven Stone of Rustboro City, a user of steel-types, and I am your challenger," Steven declared confidently.

The woman smiled with pursed lips, although it seemed to be partly from exasperation. "I see. Yet another who underestimates the potential of the grass-type." Christina sighed. "Very well. I accept." She dropped her first Poké Ball, revealing a small, round, purple Pokémon with red bulbs on its head which were speckled with white dots. A small line of whitish drool dripped from the Pokémon's frowning purple lips, and it pushed a red leaf from its face with one stubby arm.

"Gloooom..." the Pokémon mumbled.

"All right, then. Beldum, go!" Steven countered, unleashing his trusty steel-type onto the field. "Beldum, use Iron Head!"

"Gloom, counter with Sleep Powder," Christina yawned. A puff of green powder floated out of the pouch at the center of the Gloom's head flower and settled serenely over the field. Before it could act on its trainer's command, Beldum's eye shut, and it sunk to the ground.

"Beldum, wake up!" Steven shouted, to no avail.

Christina returned her first Pokémon and tossed the next Poké Ball boredly, releasing a small brown humanoid Pokémon with a long, tapered, twig-like nose and a leaf sprouting from the top of its head.

"Nuzleaf!" the Pokémon shouted enthusiastically, flexing its muscles.

"Nuzleaf, use Faint Attack," Christina muttered, obviously disappointed. The Nuzleaf disappeared from sight on command. Steven glanced around nervously, searching for the Pokémon, but was unable to find it.

And then it appeared just behind Beldum as the sleepy Pokémon opened its single red eye and began to drift upwards.

"Beldum, get away!" Steven shouted, but it was too late. Nuzleaf struck Beldum hard, and the steel-type sank back to the ground, defeated in the blink of an eye.

"I... I don't believe it..." Steven said, calling Beldum back to its Poké Ball. That made two battles in a row he'd lost. What was wrong with him? Was he really that weak, like his father thought? Was he destined to live out his life as a nobody prospering in his father's shadow?

"Are you going to send out that Baltoy or not?" Christina asked.

"He doesn't own it," Wallace mouthed, trying not to make the situation any worse.

"Look," Christina said, returning her own Pokémon, "you've got spirit, but you lack experience. You seemed to freeze up when you realized you were losing. You could've woken your Beldum up and protected yourself against that Faint Attack. You also need a little more diversity in your team if you're hoping to go up against the Champion. And I'm saying that from experience."

Steven just gazed at her in a daze, barely registering her words.

"Stay here. I'll be right back," she instructed, before turning and disappearing into a doorway. She quickly returned with an egg in a special glass case.

"This," she said, handing the case to the only half-aware Steven, "is a very precious egg. _Do not_ break it. _Do not_ lose it. Keep it safe, and keep it with you, or it'll never hatch. Hopefully, it'll teach you another thing or two about grass-types, and maybe it'll suit you more than a Vileplume or a Shiftry." She smiled again, sincerely this time.

"To the south, in Dewford Town is another gym. There is a sailor on Route 104 that can take you there."

"Okay," Steven said, sighing deeply. He nodded; she was right. "Thanks for the egg, ma'am."

"You're welcome. I hope you like the Pokémon inside. Take very good care of it, too. You can't find it in the wild," Christina said.

Steven hesitated for a moment, and then felt Wallace's hand on his shoulder. He turned to face his friend.

"It's okay. We all lose sometime. Even if you never become Champion, Winona and I know your name," Wallace said.

Steven managed a smile. "Thanks." Together, the two began to walk toward the door.

"Good luck, Steven Stone of Rustboro City!" called Christina. Steven smiled genuinely as he walked out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Little Water-Type that Could**

Baltoy zig-zagged irritably in the rain, trying in vain to avoid the cold falling drops. Aside from a quick trip to the Pokémon Center to heal Beldum, it, along with Steven and Wallace, headed straight for Oldale Town.

"Sorry you have to walk in this, Baltoy," Steven said. "Try to stay under the trees once we get outside the city."

Baltoy simply grunted and turned its face to the sky, and continued to spin in awkward patterns on its pointed foot.

Steven shrugged, and turned his attention to Route 102 ahead of him. In the distance, he could see the top of the Pokémon Center in Oldale Town. The route itself was very beautiful. A path wound along the route, carving its way through the thickly-growing trees. A pond lay serenely on the opposite end, near the small town, with bunches of lily pads clustered around the banks.

A few Zigzagoon raced along, partially obscured by the tall grass, darting towards the cover of trees. An unseen Poochyena barked. Several Wurmple had curled under the safety of a wide-reaching tree. Marill bathed gleefully in the pond, squeaking with joy in the pitter-patter of the falling water.

Steven marveled at the sight. He wouldn't have seen this if he hadn't ran away. He'd have no idea of the beauty his home region boasted. Rainy days in Rustboro weren't the most pleasant sight, after all.

Apparently, Wallace noticed Steven's wide-eyed expression. "Steven, is something wrong?"

Steven smiled. "It's so beautiful..." he said.

Wallace smiled in reply. "The Hoenn region is rough around the edges, but elegant and beautiful at her core."

Steven chuckled to himself.

Wallace suddenly gasped dramatically. "What is it?" Steven said. "Team Millennium again?" Steven's fingers gripped Beldum's Poké Ball.

"Nope!" Wallace replied, pointing at a large, broad leaf moving across the ground.

"What is that?" Steven asked, feeling his body relax.

"Lotad! I've heard they can be used to Surf, and they carry Pokémon across water on their leaves," Wallace explained.

Upon closer inspection, Steven could just barely see short, stubby legs pushing the Pokémon through the grass eastward toward the pond. "Lotad-lo-lo-lo," it chanted, as if urging itself forward.

"Isn't it grand?" Wallace said, dropping to his hands and knees and craning his neck to admire the little water-type. For what seemed like hours, Wallace just sat there watching the Lotad crawl across the drenched ground. Steven scratched the back of his head, somewhat annoyed. Baltoy did the same.

Finally, Steven spoke up. "Will you just catch it already?"

Wallace jolted out of his stupor. "Oh, right. Go, Marill!" he shouted, standing up and tossing the tiny blue mouse's Poké Ball high into the air with a dramatic gesture.

Marill squealed delightedly as it manifested next to the Lotad. Lotad looked dumbly up at Marill, and let out a quiet cry.

"Marill! Use Tackle!" Wallace said, flicking his arm out. Marill lunged forward and slammed into the Lotad, knocking the wild Pokémon onto the leaf on its back. The Lotad's legs wiggled in the air as Marill charged in for another Tackle attack, sending it tumbling over onto its legs again.

Lotad growled, and vines extended from its feet, writhing like snakes through the ground, and sprung up around Marill, who cried out as its vitality was sapped. Lotad, strength renewed, growled, "Lo." The roots promptly decayed and vanished.

"Was that Absorb?" Wallace wondered aloud. "Why, it will make the perfect addition to my team! Marill, use Tackle again!"

Before Marill could launch its attack, Lotad glowed white for a split-second, and then a yellow powder spilled from beneath the brim of its leaf, and converged on Marill, causing it to freeze in place.

"Stun Spore?" Wallace said aloud, again to nobody in particular. "Even better! Marill, Tackle!"

Marill shot an angry glare at its trainer, but otherwise made no movements.

"Wallace, paralyzed Pokémon can't move," Steven interrupted.

Wallace's face reddened, but he quickly shrugged it off. "No matter! We will fight valiantly to the last man! Marill, return!" he said, recalling the spherical water-type to its Poké Ball.

"Now, go! Feebas!" Wallace said, releasing the brown fish onto the field.

"Feeb..." the Feebas droned.

"Use Water Pulse! Defeat Lotad!" Wallace shouted.

Immediately, water began to well up around Feebas's body, this time to much higher levels due to the deluge. Lotad responded with another Stun Spore, but the yellow powder had no effect and was rendered inert the instant it came into contact with the swirling, flowing ball of water.

Then Feebas launched the sphere, and it crashed down around Lotad with immense force, sending it tumbling backwards several times. Lotad quickly recovered, shook itself back into focus, and attacked with another Absorb.

"Fee!" cried Feebas as the roots thrust up around its ragged body and leeched away its energy.

"When the roots come crumbling down, use Water Pulse again!" Wallace commanded.

Feebas closed its eyes tight in concentration as the roots withered away, drawing more water around itself.

Suddenly, Lotad darted forward into the sapphire orb, stopping just short of Feebas, and then quickly retreated, causing Feebas to lose focus and drop the ball of water.

"Feebas, use Tackle!" Wallace said. Feebas launched itself forward with its fins and slammed head-on into the Lotad, and the two collapsed to the ground.

"Get up, Feebas! Rise! Use your Tackle once more!" Wallace ordered.

Lotad struggled back to its feet first, and, before Feebas could do the same, launched another Absorb. Wallace's jaw dropped as the roots drained the last of Feebas's energy, and it fell onto it's side, unable to continue battling. Wallace recalled the Pokémon, and tossed a third Poké Ball- one that Steven hadn't seen in use before.

"Go! Magikarp! You will be the victor!" Wallace said, releasing the red-scaled, yellow-finned fish onto the field.

Magikarp flopped weakly, opening and closing its mouth repeatedly. "Magi..." it muttered lazily.

"Lo-o-o-o-o-o-o!" Lotad laughed.

"Magikarp! Now, attain victory with Splash!" Wallace said, winking at his final Pokémon.

The little water-type immediately slammed its white tail into the air, launching itself up toward the clouds like a cannonball, so high that Steven almost lost sight of it before it came crashing back down on top of Lotad, instantly knocking the wild Pokémon out, and bounced off back onto the ground.

"Poké Ball! Capture my dreams!" Wallace called, producing an empty capsule from his backpack and tossing it at the downed Lotad, which was enveloped in a bright flash of light. The Poké Ball wiggled once... twice... three times... and settled.

"Yes! We did it! We caught a Lotad!" Wallace shouted victoriously. He dove forward and wrapped his arms around his Magikarp, which flailed against his chest.

"Great job, now return!" Wallace said, retreating Magikarp into its Poké Ball. He walked forward slowly and grabbed the newly-occupied Poké Ball, and attached both to his belt. He turned to face Steven.

"So what do you think?" he asked.

"I think... It was very dramatic," Steven answered, careful not to offend his friend.

"Great!" Wallace said, beaming. "I'm practicing for my Pokémon Contest challenge!"

"That's... um, that's cool," Steven replied. "But I think you could condense it just a little."

"Hmm..." Wallace paused. "I guess you're right. Well then, I'm going to practice every day until I earn Feebas the Master Rank beauty ribbon!"

Steven smiled. "Let's get going. Baltoy's not happy, and I'm getting soaked," he suggested.

"Yeah. I guess we should get to Oldale soon," Wallace agreed.

The two turned eastward and continued walking toward the next town. Baltoy grunted exasperatedly, darting through the open areas to the safety of the trees only when it was forced. It growled at wild Pokémon that approached it out of curiosity, scaring them back into the foliage, where they watched it keep on its way, following Steven, who chuckled at its stubbornness.

When they came to the pond near the entrance to Oldale Town, Steven could see eyes watching them from beneath the groups of lily pads and realized they were Lotad as well.

And then the foliage gave way to the open air of Oldale Town. Baltoy leapt to Steven's ankles, following downwind of the boy to keep out of the brunt of the rain.

To the south rose the red roof of the Oldale Pokémon Center. Steven and Wallace passed gratefully into the inviting warm air and light of the building, and the nurse greeted them welcomingly.

"Hello! Welcome to the Oldale Town Pokémon Center! My name's Joy; what can I do for you?" she asked as the two boys walked up to her counter.

"I need my Pokémon healed, Nurse Joy," Wallace said, detaching all four Poké Balls from his belt and handing them to the nurse.

Joy took them and and placed each individually on the healing machine. She looked much younger than the other nurses, perhaps fourteen or so.

"So, ma'am," Steven said.

"Yes?" Joy returned.

"You don't see a Pokémon Center nurse as young as you often..."

"Oh, right. My mother is the nurse here, but she's left me in charge while she deals with a situation in Littleroot Town, just to the south of here, on the other end of Route 101," Joy explained.

A rotund, pink Chansey appeared through the door to the back rooms, and approached Joy. "Chansey," it said, shaking its head..

"Chansey? So there's been no calls from Mom?" she said, disappointed.

"Chansey," Chansey answered sadly.

Joy nodded and turned to retrieve Wallace's Poké Balls from the healing machines and handed them to him. "Thanks," Wallace said.

"You're welcome," Joy replied flatly.

Suddenly, a boy about Wallace's age burst through the doors to the Pokémon Center and collapsed to his hands and knees, hyperventilating and obviously winded. Steven rushed to the boy's side and helped him onto his feet.

He had dark brown hair and large, frightened eyes. He gasped for air, his entire body shaking, drained.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Steven asked.

"Help," the boy managed. "Mill-" he gasped, "-ennium."

His breathing slowly steadied. "Put your arms above your head," Joy instructed from the counter. She hopped nimbly over it, brushed a lock of curly pink hair out of her eyes, and approached the boy's other side.

"What is your name?" Steven asked.

"John," the boy answered between deep, rasping breaths, "Birch."

"John Birch?" Steven repeated. The boy nodded.

"What's wrong? Where did you come from?" Steven said urgently.

"Littleroot," the boy said, finally seeming to catch his breath. He fell back to his haunches, supported by Steven and Joy.

"Littleroot? What's happened at Littleroot? You've got to tell me!" Joy said.

The answer made Steven's heart drop. "Millennium," the boy answered.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Big Trouble in Littleroot**

Steven's lungs burned, filling to capacity and then expelling the stale air rapidly, his legs working like pistons. Baltoy was silent as it followed directly behind him. Wallace and Joy ran just ahead of him, and John Birch was lagging behind, still winded. The group raced south, houses and trees and signs all passing by in the blink of an eye, until they came to the southern exit of Oldale Town, and entered Route 101.

Steven saw nothing but the roof of the tiny town's Pokémon Laboratory rising just above the trees in the distance. In front of him, Wallace and Joy came to a ledge and leapt in unison. Steven followed suit, springing back to his feet the moment his hands and knees touched the ground. The cries of the wild Pokémon all around seemed to blur into one horrifying roar, undercut only by the beating of a helicopter's blades in the distance.

Moments later, there was another ledge, which all four humans soared over without a second thought, and then the trees ended, opening up on the town of a few houses and the lab.

Steven turned to Baltoy, which gazed out over the town curiously. It then turned away, apparently not interested.

"So your old master's not here? That lousy jerk probably wouldn't want you back anyway, Baltoy," Steven said. "I know it probably hurts, but it's the truth." Steven bent down and wrapped his hands around Baltoy's midsection, and hoisted it onto a tree branch, where it could conceal itself from view.

"Wait here," Steven instructed. Baltoy begrudgingly nodded in reply.

Steven turned to face the town, and was immediately horrified by what he saw. Millennium grunts were walking in and out of the houses' front doors freely, tearing away at curtains and shattering windows to check for whatever they were searching for. The Pokémon Laboratory was almost completely surrounded by a sea of them, each pushing and shoving at the others to get a glimpse of whatever was happening inside.

"All right, John. What do we do?" Steven whispered.

"We need to get them out of the houses first of all," Birch replied. "The guys in the lab have Pokémon of their own, so they should be safer than everybody else."

"All right, then. Let's split up," Steven said. "We'll each take one house at a time. Joy, you stay hidden, and have your Chansey heal our Pokémon when we come back out. Don't let them see you, at any cost."

"Right," Joy said, nodding.

"And when we've gotten the last of the houses..." Steven trailed off.

"I think Professor Mangrove contacted the Pokémon League for help," Birch said.

"Good!" Steven said. "Let's just try to hold out as long as we can."

"What are you talking about? We'll be smashed to pieces!" Wallace said. "This won't work. We're far too weak, and there are too many enemies!"

"We have to," Steven insisted. "Besides, who is there better to take on Team Millennium right now?"

"He has a point," Joy agreed.

"Then let's go," Steven said. With that, the four snuck off to the first houses they came to.

Steven hunched over, fingers grasping Beldum's Poké Ball tightly as he stepped silently around to the front of the house he'd chosen. He took a quick glance in one of the front windows, seeing a frightened couple clutching each other, being interrogated by grunts.

The front door was wide open, so Steven ducked inside.

The grunts looked at him, surprised. "What are you doing here, kid?" one growled.

"You're in the wrong place at the wrong time," the other rasped.

"I don't think so," Steven replied, frowning determinedly. He might not have been able to defeat Christina at the Petalburg Gym, but this was a possible life-or-death situation, and Steven was sure they weren't nearly as powerful.

"All right, you asked for it, kid!" one of the grunts said, tossing a Poké Ball to the ground, revealing a tiny mushroom-like Pokémon with a brown body and green spots and legs. The Pokémon frowned unhappily.

"Go, Beldum!" Steven responded, tossing out his trusty steel-type. "Iron Head!"

"Shroomish, dodge and then use Leech Seed!" the grunt commanded.

Beldum darted forward, barely missing its target, which spat a seed at it. The seed split into several uncurling vines that wrapped themselves around Beldum's body, but were unable to penetrate his metallic hide, and promptly withered and disintegrated.

"Beldum, use Iron Head again!" Steven called.

Beldum swung itself sideways, thrusting its glowing metal head into Shroomish's body, causing it to squeal in pain.

"Again, Beldum!" Beldum repeated its actions, sending the Shroomish bouncing across the hardwood floor, crashing into the leg of a side table, where it fell unconscious.

"Shroomish, return!" the grunt called.

The second grunt shoved the first one aside as he retreated his Pokémon. "You like to play rough, kid? I'll show you rough! Go! Electrike!" he shouted angrily. A small green canine Pokémon accented with yellow streaks in its fur appeared and twitched, eager to battle.

"Iron Head!" Steven directed.

"Thunder Wave, Electrike!" the grunt commanded.

"Watch out! Dodge it!" Steven shouted. Electrike spawned a weak pulse of electricity from its ears, and Beldum slipped through a gap in the attack, avoiding paralysis, and struck the Electrike directly in the head. The electric-type staggered backward a few steps, and shook its head, regaining its focus.

"Use Howl! Alert the others!" the grunt said.

"Iron Head again! Stop it from drawing any attention, Beldum!" Steven said. Beldum slammed itself into Electrike's body, knocking it across the floor like Shroomish before it. Electrike yelped in pain as the attack connected.

"Tackle it, Electrike!" the grunt said.

Electrike barked, and it darted forward, slamming head-on into Beldum, who was knocked backwards a foot or two by the impact. It easily shook it off.

"Thunder Fang!" the grunt said. Electrike's jaw crackled and sparked with electricity, and it lunged forward and clamped its teeth down on Beldum's body, sending a jolt into the blue steel-type Pokémon.

"Beldum, use Take Down!" Steven said.

Beldum jerked itself out of Electrike's grasp and sent itself hurling into its body, and the two Pokémon collapsed in a heap on the ground. Beldum rose slowly, glaring at the two Millennium grunts. Electrike, however, did not recover.

"I don't believe it! How can a kid be this strong?" the grunt said, returning his Electrike. "What do you want?"

"I want you all to leave this town. What are you looking for here?" Steven said.

"Hmm... If you can defeat this last Pokémon, I'll tell you," the grunt said, sending out his final Pokémon. A tiny, brown mammal-like Pokémon with eyes shut tight appeared on the floor between them. It seemed to be asleep.

"An Abra..." Steven said.

"That's right!" the grunt laughed haughtily. "Abra don't need to be told to Teleport when they're in danger. Good luck even scratching it!"

"Beldum, Iron Head!" Steven said.

Beldum's head gave off a silvery glow, and it launched forward. Abra disappeared an instant before Beldum hit it, and Beldum instead crashed into the floor, splintering the wood. Beldum pulled itself out of the wood and scanned the room for its opponent.

"There!" Steven said, pointing Abra out behind Beldum. Beldum launched another attack, yielding the same result.

Over and over again, Beldum aimed an Iron Head attack carefully, and then Abra used Teleport to move out of the way just as Beldum reached it.

But Steven was beginning to notice a pattern. It never teleported sideways or backwards, or even diagonally. Only forwards. Of course, it didn't always land facing the same direction every time...

"_Think creatively..."_ echoed the voice of Clay in Steven's mind.

"That's it!" Steven said to himself.

Beldum hovered, apparently fatigued, a short distance behind Abra. In front of both Pokémon was a side table holding a small, ceramic lamp. Perfect.

"Beldum, Iron Head!" Steven said. Just as he predicted, Abra moved in a straight line forward. "Now keep going!"

Just as commanded, Beldum corrected itself slightly and then continued on its path and smashed into the table and the lamp, sending shards of ceramic and wood flying into the just-materialized Abra, which cried out in surprise and pain.

"Iron Head!" Steven roared. Beldum accelerated, head glowing, and slammed into the Abra, sending it tumbling over across the floor, crashing against a wall. It collapsed to the floor, defeated.

The grunt growled. "Abra, return."

"You're good, kid," he said, turning to address Steven.

"Are you going to tell me what you're doing here?" Steven said, giving a steely glare.

"Eh, I don't feel like it," the grunt sneered, shrugging his shoulders. "Why don't you make me?"

"Beldum..." Steven hissed, clenching his fists.

"Bel-dum!" came the answer, as Beldum rose up, hovering over Steven's shoulder. Steven could tell it was ready to attack at any moment.

"Okay, okay, fine..." the grunt mumbled.

"Well?" Steven demanded.

"What we're after... it's really quite simple," the grunt said, obviously trying to stall, fidgeting with something in his pocket. "We're after the prodigy of Littleroot."

"What?" Steven said. "What does that mean? Who is the 'prodigy of Littleroot'?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out!" the grunt said, hurling a smoke ball at the ground. The tiny sphere exploded, concealing both grunts in a cloud of thick, black smoke.

The terrified owners of the house coughed and fanned the smoke away from themselves with their hands. After a few moments, the smoke cleared, and the two grunts were still standing there.

"I told you we were supposed to run!" the first grunt shouted.

"Oh, shut it. It's not like Set would just leave us here," the second retorted.

Steven cleared his throat loudly. "Do you have any rope here?" he asked the couple.

The man nodded, and disappeared through a doorway before returning a moment later, with a length of rope in hand.

"Block the door, Beldum," Steven said, walking forward to take the rope.

"Wait- wait, kid! What are you doing?" the first grunt said, frightened.

"Shut up! Like you were any help!" the second grumbled at his partner.

Steven wrapped several loops around the two men, and pulled it tightly, pulling the two grunts together, back-to-back. He tied a double-knot with the ends, gently tugging on the loops to ascertain its tautness, and, satisfied, turned to thank the couple for their assistance.

"Sorry for the damage," he apologized.

"Oh, no. It's no problem. You might have saved our lives," the woman thanked him.

"Lock the door after I leave with these two," Steven instructed, indicating the two helpless grunts on the floor. "Then take shelter. It might get a little wild outside."

The couple nodded at him, and Steven turned and began to drag the two grunts out, over the doorstep, onto the concrete porch, where he dropped them.

"Don't go anywhere, now!" Steven taunted, sneaking around the side of the house to find Joy.

"Yeah, you'd better run!" the second grunt said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Prodigy**

Joy sighed in relief as Steven came around the corner. "Thank goodness!" she whispered. "I heard all the crashing and thought you'd been defeated."

"Thanks. I need Beldum healed," Steven said, indicating Beldum, who was floating just over his shoulder.

"All right," Joy said, before directing Chansey to restore Beldum's energy with a Healing Wave. A soft pink glow illuminated the alleyway for a second as the restoring beam of energy transferred from Chansey to Beldum.

"Bel," Beldum said, grateful.

"All right, I'm going to go to the next house," Steven said.

"No, the plans have changed," Joy said, putting a restraining hand on his shoulder. "All the grunts have left the houses and entered the laboratory. Wallace and John have already gone after them."

Steven nodded his head. "Let's go," he said, turning and sprinting off toward the sprawling complex of the Littleroot Laboratory.

Just as Joy had said, there were no grunts in sight, aside from the two tied up on the couple's porch. Steven easily strode up to the front door, and squat on his haunches. He slowly turned the doorknob, biting his lower lip in concentration. It slid further, further, further... and then the door swung open. Steven leapt inside, and gasped.

Joy, Wallace, and Birch, as well as an old man and several lab assistants, were laying on the ground, their wrists and ankles bound by ropes and their mouths gagged. A mob of grunts stood circled around them. The Joy behind Steven let out a masculine chuckle as her body began to flicker, revealing a surprisingly tall, lanky man in clothing similar to Isis. Long black hair framed his pale face, and he, too, wore the double crown.

"Who are you?" Steven demanded. Beldum hovered at the ready beside its master.

"Who am I?" the man repeated. He chuckled. "I am Set, Grand Vizier of Team Millennium. The question is, little boy, who are _you_?"

Steven hesitated, unnerved by the man's dark manner. "My name... is Steven Stone. I am going to be the Champion of the Hoenn Region."

Set laughed derisively. "Champion? You? You barely managed to defeat Ton and To just moments ago!" he said, apparently meaning the two grunts that had been interrogating the couple.

Wallace struggled out of his gag. "Steven, watch out! He's got a Duskull and a Kirlia!" he warned.

Set grinned malevolently. The Chansey behind him flickered in the same manner as he had himself earlier, revealing a dark gray Pokémon with a skull for a face and a single, glowing eye in the void behind it, as well as a white and green Pokémon that resembled a dancer. They loomed menacingly behind their trainer.

"Beldum, Iron Head!" Steven directed.

"Duskull, Shadow Sneak," Set commanded coolly.

The Duskull disappeared from view, seemingly melting into a shadow, which moved across the blue-tiled floor and sprung up behind Beldum, delivering a ghostly blow with one wispy arm.

Beldum cried out and recoiled, crashing into the ground, shattering several tiles.

"Duskull is a ghost-type, which means it has an advantage over your Beldum," Set said. "You may as well give up now."

"Give up?" Steven frowned, glaring at Set. "I will never give up!" he declared. "Beldum, give it another Iron Head!"

Beldum launched itself at Duskull, slamming its glowing head into its opponent. Duskull was knocked back by the attack, but took little damage.

"Again!" Steven shouted.

"Shadow Sneak."

Duskull once again disappeared and reappeared to strike Beldum from behind.

"Now use Disable."

Duskull and Beldum locked eyes.

"Beldum, use Iron Head!" Steven interjected.

Beldum lunged forward, but passed right through Duskull and crashed into a wall, sending drywall falling down onto the grunts.

"What was that? I said Iron Head, not Take Down!" Steven said, shocked.

"Kid, you may be tenacious, but you don't really have any experience, do you? Your Beldum can't use Iron Head anymore, because that move has been literally disabled. The only attack your Pokémon can use now is Take Down, and that can't affect Duskull," Set explained, still keeping his cool. "Now, Duskull, use Astonish."

Duskull disappeared again, but this time, it didn't form a shadow. Instead, it immediately reappeared in front of Beldum, flailing its arms and moaning loudly. Beldum crashed to the ground, stunned.

"What are you going to do?" Steven asked defiantly.

Set stepped forward and grabbed Steven's collar, and dragged him toward a storage closet, which one of the grunts eagerly opened. Steven glanced up and saw Beldum being pulled through the air by Duskull.

Steven kicked and flailed, but Set held firm with seemingly superhuman strength. He grunted, trying as hard as his body would permit to escape the man's grasp, but he nevertheless glided over the smooth tile.

Set tossed him easily into the closet, and Duskull dropped Beldum next to him. The door slammed, and Steven was enveloped in darkness. The lock clicked.

Steven stood and slammed his fists on the door. "Let me out of here! Let me out or... or..." He fell silent. He could hear, albeit muffled, Set grab one of the captives in the main area.

"Now, urchin," he growled, "tell me where I can find the stone!"

"No," the captive replied, obviously frightened. "I don't even know where it is myself."

Steven gasped- it was John Birch! Birch was the prodigy!

"If you don't want to face the judgment of Team Millennium, you will tell us now!"

"I don't know where it is!" Birch insisted.

"LIAR!" Set screamed furiously. There was a loud thud, and Birch cried out in pain. Had Set simply tossed him like he had Steven?

"No, don't!" a voice pleaded weakly.

That must be Professor Mangrove, Steven thought.

"Please, don't hurt him," the professor continued.

"How do they keep getting free of their gags?" Set snarled. "Tighten them!"

"Now, tell me where the stone is, or you will never see this town again. You can say good-bye to everyone in it! We're going to destroy everything!" Set declared.

Steven could hear Birch grunt several times. All he could think was that Set was physically harming the boy.

"Don't hurt him!" Steven shouted, slamming his fists on the door again. "Don't you dare hurt anybody!"

He backed up against the far wall, then lunged forward and slammed his shoulder against the door, but it held firm. He recoiled, fell to the ground, and rubbed his now-sore shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Beldum. I'm so sorry. I- I can't believe it's going to end like this," Steven said. He felt his stomach churning like he was about to throw up. Tears welled up in his eyes. His body shook uncontrollably.

"Steven..." Birch called weakly. "Help..."

Steven looked up at the doorknob, which glinted in the dim light that slipped in through the cracks around the door. He slowly stood and reached toward it, turned it. It didn't open.

Steven sank back to his knees.

"Where is the Millennium Comet?" Set demanded. "Tell me, or we'll kill the old man!"

"I don't know!" Birch said, voice cracked by sobs.

Steven slammed his fist against the door again.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the building.

"What was that?" Set hissed. "Grunts! Take care of it!"

There came several "Yes sir!" replies from the grunts, a storm of footsteps as they vacated the lab, and the front door swung open and then slammed shut.

Steven could just barely hear the commotion outside. "Tell me now!" Set said again. "I'll kill the man now! There's no time left!"

Steven perked up. He slammed his fist against the door with renewed vigor. "Let me out now!" he demanded.

"You're in no position to make demands, boy!" Set yelled.

"Going from your impatience, neither are you!" Steven retorted.

Set growled. A loud bang drowned out all other sound for a split-second, and Steven's ears rang. The captives issued muffled screams. Steven's eyes began to boil over with righteous anger. He didn't know if Set had actually shot anybody, but he was going down. Now.

"You... let... me... out!" Steven said, rage building, punctuating each word by slamming his fist against the door again.

Then the lights flickered in the main room. Beldum's body began to let off a brilliant white glow, forcing Steven to shut his eyes for several moments until it faded. Once Steven could open his eyes again, the door was smashed into pieces and shrapnel shot across the laboratory.

Steven stepped into the light, followed by a Pokémon larger than Beldum, with the same color scheme, but with two eyes instead of one, separated by a long, sharp silver nose. Its two arms were almost identical to Beldum, but instead of a head, each had a thin appendage connecting it to the main, disk-like body.

"Me-tang," the Pokémon threatened.

"Like I said," Steven smirked, "don't you _dare_ hurt anybody."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Grand Vizier Set**

Set chuckled. "Are you threatening me, boy? One evolution isn't going to save you. You still only have one Pokémon, after all." He took a single step forward.

"My _name _is _Steven Stone_, and I'm more powerful than you think!" Steven declared, also taking a step forward.

"Fine, then. But don't expect to live through this. You're in my domain, now," Set said. "Duskull, Shadow Sneak."

Duskull melted into its shadow again, and slunk toward Metang.

"Metang, use Confusion to stop Duskull!" Steven said.

"Met!" Metang affirmed. It shut its eyes tightly and focused. A wave of purple energy emanated from Metang's head and washed over Duskull, pulling out of its shadowy form and sending it flying back toward its trainer.

Set growled. "Pursuit!"

Duskull darted forward, slamming into Metang's body. Both Pokémon collapsed to the ground.

"Quick, Metang, use Metal Claw before it can get away!" Steven said.

Metang immediately slashed at Duskull with glowing silver claws, and the ghost-type recoiled back across the floor.

"Again, Metang!"

Metang dug its claws into the tile and launched itself forward, raking its claws over Duskull's back.

"Now Confusion!"

A second purple burst of energy erupted from Metang's head, knocking Duskull out.

"Bah! Duskull was already drained from our previous battle," Set said, returning Duskull to its Poké Ball. "Kirlia, Shadow Ball!"

"Metang, block it with Confusion!" Steven ordered.

Kirlia hopped forward and a small black sphere began to form between its hands. The sphere quickly expanded before Kirlia launched it at Metang. Metang's confusion attack redirected the Shadow Ball into the ceiling, which it passed through harmlessly.

"Now, use Confusion to propel yourself forward, and attack with Metal Claw!" Steven said.

Metang angled its hands behind it and jetted itself forward with a blast of telekinetic energy, then slashed at Kirlia just as it disappeared.

"Now use Magical Leaf! We'll wear it down if we have to!" Set commanded.

Kirlia materialized on the opposite end of the room, formed a blade-shaped leaf similarly to its Shadow Ball attack, and launched it at Metang. The leaf sliced through the air at such an astonishing speed that Steven and Metang were left with no time to react, and the leaf crashed into the blue body and shattered into nothingness like an illusion. Metang was pushed back slightly by the attack, but showed no sign of injury.

"Confusion!" Steven called.

Kirlia again teleported out of the way just as the attack reached it. It reappeared directly behind Metang and sent another Magical Leaf smashing into its body. Metang turned and attempted to attack again, but Kirlia again teleported.

"Your Pokémon's acting without your orders, Set. It looks like you don't have its trust or respect," Steven said, trying to unnerve his opponent.

"You think so?" Set said, feigning deep thought. "I guess it really does look that way. But let me let you in on a little secret- it's not what it appears!" Kirlia reappeared next to Set and launched another Magical Leaf.

Metang winced as the leaf sliced at its body. The attacks were beginning to take their toll- that much was obvious to Steven.

"What, then!" Steven said, frustrated.

"You'll find out in due time. My colleague, Isis, uses the same technique."

The simple mention of the cold, emotionless Isis sent chills down Steven's spine. The battle against her had been completely one-sided. He, Wallace, and Winona had all been unable to land a single attack on her mighty Kadabra.

"Metang, try and anticipate Kirlia's next location, and counter with something!" Steven said. But what could this secret technique be?

Kirlia appeared a few feet behind Metang and launched another Magical Leaf. Metang immediately spun in mid-air and slashed through the attack with its own Metal Claw. The twin halves of the leaf sailed harmlessly past Metang and shattered against the tile floor.

"Metal Claw again!" Steven said. Once again, Kirlia evaded Metang's attack.

Steven noticed Metang was now scanning around the room, its red eyes moving over every object in the lab. It instantly located Kirlia as it rematerialized, and sliced through another Magical Leaf.

"Confusion!" Steven shouted, but it was too late. Kirlia had already disappeared again.

Metang again was scanning the room, and expertly countered another Magical Leaf.

Set's face was engulfed in a scowl. He was obviously frustrated by something.

Then it hit him. Both Pokémon were psychic-types. Isis's Kadabra was a psychic-type as well. Psychic means 'of the mind'.

Steven smirked.

"What?" Set demanded.

"It's telepathy, isn't it?" Steven said.

Set simply growled in reply.

Steven wasn't sure it would work. Kadabra were known for their incredible mental capacity, and Kirlia were known for their ability to read emotions and see the future. Metang were known for their flight speed- about 60 miles per hour- and their psychokinetically-generated magnetism. It was probable that they were able to communicate telepathically with each other, but Steven wasn't sure they could communicate that way with humans.

He decided to try it anyway. _Metang?_ Steven thought.

Metang turned to face Steven and nodded.

_I want you to anticipate Kirlia's next move, block its attacks, and when it lands near you, take it out with a Metal Claw before it can use Magical Leaf. Got it?_

Metang wobbled back and forth slightly, as if nodding.

Kirlia disappeared again, and immediately reappeared behind Metang, leaving no time in-between. Steven clenched his teeth, and the second that passed seemed like an hour. Metang spun, Kirlia's arms were poised in front of it like a ballerina. Metang's claws gave off a lengthening silvery glow, the crescent-shaped illusory leaf began forming between Kirlia's hands. Kirlia pushed the leaf forward with its psychic powers, but Metang slashed upward through it and slashed at Kirlia itself, sending it tumbling back, end-over-end.

It struggled back to its feet, and then collapsed once more, defeated.

Set nonchalantly returned his Kirlia to its Poké Ball and gave an evil grin. "Now it's time for my trump card. Let's show ourselves now!"

As if on command, some of the air beside Set began to distort. This illusion flickered, and faded, revealing a bipedal fox-like Pokémon with dark gray and black fur, and blood-red claws. A long, bushy red mane with black tips flowed from the back of its head, tied back by a light blue wrap. The Pokémon's fearsome blue eyes locked menacingly on Metang. "Zoro..." it growled. "ARK!"

"Zoroark, Night Slash!" Set commanded.

Zoroark howled and blurred as it darted forward. Metang was helpless as Zoroark slashed at it with claws that trailed darkness.

"Metang, counter with Metal Claw!" Steven said.

"Dodge it with Agility!" Set countered.

Metang spun with the momentum from Zoroark's blow and swiped at it with glowing claws, but it had already darted out of range.

Without orders, Zoroark stretched its jaws open wide and wafted its paw in front of its face, pretending to yawn. Metang growled in response to Zoroark's taunting.

"Metang, launch yourself forward and use Metal Claw!" Steven said.

"Dark Pulse," Set commanded, just as Metang shot forward. Zoroark roared and a pulse of darkness exploded from its body, knocking Metang to the ground.

"Night Slash!" Set said. Zoroark leapt high into the air, somersaulted, and bore down on Metang with its claws ready to strike.

"Block it with Confusion!" Steven directed.

Metang launched a wave of psychic energy at the falling Zoroark, but it passed right through and struck Metang's shoulder.

There was a strained grunt as Birch stumbled to his feet. "Combusken, Double Kick!" he shouted, tossing a Poké Ball of his own. A yellow and orange avian Pokémon burst energetically into battle, and struck Zoroark in the chest twice, first with one bird-like leg, then with the other, before landing nimbly on the floor. Zoroark slammed into the tiles, shattering several and rolling over.

Zoroark bitterly stood and glared at both of its enemies.

Steven realized that Zoroark would move to block any of Metang's advances, and that he'd been verbally directing Metang. _Metang, free the captives. John will take care of Zoroark, _he thought.

Steven nodded to Birch, who ordered another Double Kick. Combusken and Metang both darted forward simultaneously. As Zoroark dealt with the fire-type, Metang quickly slashed the ropes binding Wallace, Joy, and the lab workers. Once free, Wallace released his Magikarp and his Feebas, Joy her Chansey, and Professor Mangrove a purple, four-winged bat with large yellow eyes.

Set growled. "Zoroark, let's get out of here!" With that, he tossed a small purple sphere into the floor, sending up a plume of smoke.

Moments later, the smoke cleared enough that Steven could plainly see that Set and Zoroark had disappeared.

"Stop them before they get away!" Mangrove called. "They'll leave on the helicopters!"

"Mom!" Joy said, and rushed out the door, with Chansey in tow. Steven, Wallace, Birch, and their Pokémon followed closely behind.

Sure enough, a whining gave away the helicopters' starting motors. The group sprinted around a group of houses and found three massive cargo helicopters, blades slowly revolving around the rotor. Several Millennium Grunts were fending off a massive bull-like Pokémon with three tails, being commanded by a tall, thin man in denim jeans and a t-shirt. Their Pokémon were falling to the Tauros at a rate that astounded Steven. One by one, the grunts returned their Pokémon and hopped aboard one of the choppers. Once all had boarded, Set charged with his Zoroark, but the man calmly ordered a Giga Impact attack.

Tauros stomped its feet and charged forward, lowering its head and butting Zoroark, which cried out in sheer pain and sailed through the air, hitting the ground rolling. It had already lost consciousness. Set immediately retreated to the helicopter, dragging Zoroark along by the paw.

The helicopters began to rise from the ground, with Set's in the lead. The bay door closed behind him. The second followed, and then the third.

Joy screamed, pointing at the cargo bay of the third copter, which was not yet sealed. A pink-haired woman struggled, bound with ropes around her wrists and ankles, and a white gag muffled her voice.

"Mom! MOM!" she wailed desperately.

Isis and her Kadabra were standing next to the struggling woman.

"Grovyle! Pursuit!" Birch shouted over the roar of the blades. He hurled a second Poké Ball, and a green reptilian Pokémon with a red underbelly and long, slender leaves trailing from its elbows, tail, and head materialized. The Grovyle disappeared from view and slammed into Isis's Kadabra, causing it to double over onto its knees.

A strong wave of psychic energy knocked Grovyle from the helicopter, but it landed lightly on its feet, unharmed. The helicopters rose up, out, and away from Littleroot Town, and were soon specks in the darkening sky.

Baltoy suddenly leapt into Steven's arms, but then shoved itself away, and looked down at the ground, apparently embarrassed.

Joy fell to her knees and began to whimper. The man with the Tauros jogged over. "Are you injured?" he asked.

"No, we're all fine, thankfully. But Team Millennium has kidnapped her mother," Steven explained.

"It's good that you're all safe," the man said. "My name is Joseph. The Pokémon League contacted me to help out. Luckily, I was investigating some ruins near Fortree City." He knelt down next to Joy. "It's gonna be okay. Team Millennium won't harm your mother. She's too valuable to them."

Joy sniffled, and wiped a tear from her eye. "Why would they want her?"

"Well, your mother is Nurse Felicity, isn't she? I've known your mother for a while now. She has knowledge of this area that few others have," Joseph assured her. "I'll find her."

"But, how can you find her? What, are you one of the Elite Four?" Joy said, doubt penetrating her voice.

Joseph chuckled. "Something like that."

"He's pretty tough, Joy," Steven said. He trusted this man.

"Indeed," Wallace agreed. "The battle I witnessed today can only be described as 'curbstomp'!"

Tauros expelled a blast of air from its nose. "Oh, sorry, Tauros. I forgot you don't like being outside when it's dark. Return." Tauros disappeared in a flash of light, and Joseph reattached the Poké Ball to his belt. "Tauros has poor vision. He really doesn't like it when he can't see."

Joseph stepped to Steven. "I recognize you. You're Mr. Stone's son, right? Steven?" The two shook hands.

Steven grinned. "Yeah, that's me." Then his face flushed. "Please don't tell my dad where I am."

Joseph chuckled. "You don't have to worry about that." He stepped to Wallace. "And you're Juan's apprentice. Wallace."

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Wallace said.

"Oh, Juan and I had a good battle a few months ago. I'll have to tell you about it sometime," Joseph explained. "But for now, let's get back to Oldale Town. But there's only room enough for two passengers on my ride, so you'll have to fly back on your Metang, Steven." Joseph turned to Birch.

"Nice seeing you again, John. Give my regards to the professor," he said. "Braviary, let's go!"

A red, white, and blue eagle-like Pokémon with a feathery crest on its head appeared from Joseph's second Poké Ball. Joseph stretched his leg over Braviary's neck, and braced his knees against the Pokémon's wings. He reached for Joy, who reluctantly stood and allowed herself to be hauled onto Braviary by the man's surprisingly impressive strength. Wallace leapt on behind Joseph, and wrapped his arms around the two riders in front of him. Joseph leaned forward, and allowed the two passengers to return their Pokémon before giving the command: "Fly!"

On command, Braviary soared into the air, high above the ground. There was a high-pitched scream, which Steven thought was Joy until Wallace looked down at the ground, mouth gaping.

Steven waved to Birch, who waved back, along with Combusken and Grovyle. Baltoy almost eagerly jumped onto Steven's shoulder, and Metang lowered itself to the ground. Steven sat down on Metang's flat head, gripped its shoulders, and then urged it north, toward Oldale.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Prepare to Set Sail!**

Steven's eyes fluttered open in the gentle sunlight streaming into the room from the window. Oldale Town's Pokémon Center, like any Center across the world, possessed a hostel on its second floor. However, because of Oldale Town's small size, the hostel was likewise tiny compared to that in Petalburg.

He stretched his arms and rose from the mattress, which creaked slightly under his shifting weight.

"Baltoy," came a soft, somewhat irritated whisper. Steven looked over to his left to see Baltoy rising upward on top of Metang. Baltoy looked annoyed.

"Me-tang!" Metang greeted, grinning widely and feigning obliviousness to its unwilling counterpart.

"Metang, put Baltoy down," Steven said.

"Me?" Metang asked, continuing to pretend that it was unaware of Baltoy's presence.

Steven leaned his head forward at an angle, giving Metang a look that prompted it to lower itself back to the floor, and allow Baltoy to disembark.

"Bal!" Baltoy said, slapping Metang across the face with one of its long, slender arms.

"Tang!" Metang laughed, only annoying Baltoy further.

"Stop it, you two," Steven said. "You'll wake everybody up."

"Too late!" Wallace called from across the room. He was dusting the air conditioning vents energetically. "You've slept in!"

Steven reached down into his backpack from his bed, and fished out his watch. "10:13".

"What? Already? We've got to get going soon, if you're going to get to Mauville and I'm going to get back to Petalburg," Steven said. He jumped out of bed, quickly showered and dressed, and then went down for breakfast.

A nurse with long, curly blue hair was washing dishes behind the food counter. She had arrived overnight by a Tropius dispatched by the Pokémon League to fill in while Nurse Felicity was in Team Millennium's captivity.

Steven bypassed the last remaining plate and grabbed a bowl, which he filled with cereal and drowned in milk. From one of the tables, Joseph beckoned to him. Steven took a seat adjacent to him, across from Joy. Next to Joy sat Christina, and at the end of the table next to Steven, Wallace had taken his seat.

"Now that we're all here, we can discuss Team Millennium. It's obvious that they are very dangerous. I want you three to be very careful. Do not engage them unless there is no alternative," Joseph said. "You guys might not be children anymore, but you're too young to be taking on men ruthless enough to shoot helpless old men, and I believe that's exactly what Set would've done had you not broken out, Steven."

"But what about my mom? Am I supposed to just stand by and let them do whatever they want with her?" Joy said.

"The Pokémon League will handle the situation. I and the other Gym Leaders received orders earlier this morning by messenger Swellow to investigate and arrest suspected members. The incident yesterday sent a clear message to the League that these guys aren't just some idiots running around in cloaks and weird hats," Christina said, clenching a gloved hand. "But we can't let the regular trainers get involved. We fear they may just end up as collateral damage."

"So you think we won't be able to stand up against them?" Steven said, unbelieving. "That's something my father would say!"

"It's not that. We just don't want anybody possibly being hurt. It is the duty of the Pokémon League to ensure the protection of all trainers within each League's domain. Our secondary function is to test trainers and bestow badges on those who prove themselves worthy. But protection comes first," Christina said.

"The Elite Four are searching for Isis and Set right now. Whether there are any more leaders in Team Millennium is yet to be seen, but we'll find them," Joseph said.

"We won't just give up," Steven said. "As long as there's evil in Hoenn, I'll be there to fight it."

"I as well," Wallace declared.

"Me, too," Joy agreed.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm and determination. That will see you through at Ever Grande City, I know it, Steven. But the fact is, the Gym Leaders and Elite Four aren't out to _kill_ you. For all we know, these people are an entirely different story. We know how to handle dangerous trainers," Joseph insisted. "The fact that you have the courage to stand up to these people is admirable, but you have to leave this to us."

"I can't," Steven said.

"Then I have to alert your father that you're here," Christina said.

"What? You can't do that!" Steven said. "I'll be grounded for years! Joseph, tell her. Tell her how I held off Set!"

Joseph shook his head. "Better grounded than dead."

"I can't believe this! I can't go back now! I've come so far!" Steven protested. "I have to get to Dewford Town to challenge Silva!"

"Dewford? I know someone who can get you there. But you have to promise to avoid Team Millennium at all costs," Joseph said.

"I can't just let them get away with harming those Pokémon in the Petalburg Woods. I can't let them get away with kidnapping Joy's mother and attacking Littleroot Town!" Steven said.

"Then I won't tell you. You'll be stuck here," Joseph said.

"Wallace can take me, anyway," Steven countered.

"Wallace's escort to Mauville is one of his mentor Juan's Pokémon. It won't obey him," Joseph said.

"Well, I can fly on Metang!"

"Metang can't carry you that far," Joseph said. "Not until it's a Metagross."

"Then I'll evolve Metang! I'll train it until it evolves!" Steven said.

"That will take months. With any luck, we'll have Team Millennium in jail by then," Christina said.

"Oh..." Steven said, defeated.

"Now do you promise not to interfere with this battle?" Joseph asked.

"Yeah..." Steven said half-heartedly.

"Okay. I can take you as far as the Route 104 coast. Past that, you'll be sailing with a friend of mine," Joseph said. "I'd fly you there myself, but I have to get back to Ever Grande to report to the League Administrator."

Steven nodded. "Okay."

Joseph straightened himself in his chair. "Then we should get moving. Joy, you stay here in Oldale. I'll tell you if I hear anything about your mother."

Joy nodded, apparently feeling as defeated as Steven. "Okay..."

"Wallace, you go straight to Mauville once you get across to Route 110. Take the lower route of Cycling Road. It's slower, but Team Millennium might be watching the upper route," Joseph instructed.

Wallace nodded. "Right."

"If you feel like you're being watched or followed, leave the path and Surf the rest of the way. Wattson will be waiting for you to take you the rest of the way to Verdanturf."

"Okay. I'll head back to Petalburg, but I'll leave one of my Gym Trainers here to keep an eye on the town," Christina said, standing up from her chair. She pushed the seat back under the table, shook hands with Joseph, Steven, and Wallace, and patted Joy on the shoulder.

"We'll find your mother soon. I promise," she said. After everyone had said their good-byes, she turned and left the Pokémon Center.

"I guess we should be leaving, too," Joseph said, standing up as well.

Steven looked down at his bowl of cereal, which had barely been touched. He didn't feel like eating. He just wanted to hurry up and get to Dewford. He stood and took his half-full bowl to the substitute nurse, who emptied it into a garbage disposal and began scrubbing it clean. He quickly ran upstairs to gather his backpack and Pokémon, who followed him down into the main lobby.

Joy had taken her position behind the main counter next to the healing machine and Joseph and Wallace were waiting in the lobby.

"Ready to go?" Joseph asked.

"Yeah," Steven said. He waved good-bye to Joy, who returned the gesture, and then followed the two others outside.

"Steven, keep your Metang inside its Poké Ball," Joseph instructed as the glass double-doors shut behind them. "It could attract unwanted attention."

Steven nodded and returned Metang. Joseph led them north around the Pokémon Center, past several houses, and onto Route 103.

Several ledges thwarted any straight-forward path, but this side of the route was relatively short. A group of Zigzagoon watched curiously from the safety of the thick trees. A flock of Wingull soared high above. A small inlet of the ocean slapped against the shore serenely.

The water welled up at one spot near the shore, and a large light blue Pokémon resembling a seahorse broke through the otherwise crystalline surface.

"There's your ride, Wallace," Joseph said, leading Steven and Wallace through a patch of waist-high grass toward the shore.

"Yeah. That's my master's Kingdra," Wallace said, sounding almost reluctant. He turned and faced Steven, and held out his hand. Steven shook it firmly and placed his other hand on Wallace's shoulder. Wallace returned the gesture.

"I guess this is good-bye," Steven said.

Wallace sighed. "Yeah..."

"See you around?" Steven asked.

"You know it," Wallace said. "And when you arrive in Sootopolis to take on my master, I'll be there to watch."

"I'm holding you to that," Steven said.

"All right, Wallace. Time to go," Joseph said. He glanced around himself, seeming almost nervous.

"Okay," Wallace said. He turned and stepped to the edge of the waterline, and Kingdra pushed itself closer with its tail. Wallace climbed onto the Kingdra's shoulders, wrapping his arms around its backward-swept horns.

He twisted around, keeping his right hand's grip and waving with his left. "Bye!" Kingdra began moving steadily forward through the water, toward the opposite bank some distance away.

Steven waved back. "Bye!"

Wallace continued on for a while before Steven finally turned to Joseph.

"Ready to go?" Joseph asked.

Steven nodded. "Yeah."

"All right then. Come on out, Dodrio!" Joseph said, tossing a Poké Ball to the ground, releasing a tall, thin Pokémon with two thin yellow bird-legs, three red feathers for a tail, three round heads covered in fluffy brown feathers and adorned with a black v-shaped crests and thin yellow beaks, long, slender, light-brown necks, and a round body also covered in brown feathers.

Joseph swung one leg up and over Dodrio's back, and reached for Steven, who he pulled up in front of him. Steven, holding Baltoy in front of him, craned his neck and asked, "Why aren't we flying on Braviary? Wouldn't that be faster?"

Joseph chuckled. "Oh, we're flying, all right. But Braviary, being such an exotic Pokémon, might attract attention like your Metang. I decided we'd use something you can find in Hoenn." He cleared his throat.

"Hold on to Baltoy, Steven! All right, Dodrio, let's use Fly! To Captain Briney's house!"

Steven's eyes widened with fright at the idea of sailing through the air on a flightless bird. How exactly could Dodrio fly, again? Steven's thoughts were interrupted as Dodrio's knees bent and then extended with the Pokémon's full might. The forest, the grass, the water, the ground... everything fell away beneath them. Steven and Baltoy both screamed.

Steven held tightly to Dodrio's middle neck and Baltoy. His hair waved violently in the wind, and he saw the earth moving beneath him. Dodrio's shadow moved west over dense forest. To the south, Steven could see the entirety of Route 102. It was oddly peaceful, so high in the air. The trees beneath passed as if they were a herd of Torterra given the speed of a Sceptile. Now Petalburg City was passing to the south. Steven could just make out Christina returning to the city. Ahead, Steven spotted the cottage.

Dodrio began to lose altitude. The ground rushed up to meet them. Dodrio landed nimbly and surely in front of the cottage. Joseph leapt comfortably from his mount, and helped a shaky-legged Steven, carrying Baltoy in his arms, to the ground. Steven collapsed to his knees, heart pulsing rapidly and hyperventilating.

Joseph rapped on the door with his knuckles. Moments later, a middle-aged man with balding gray hair answered the door, a white-feathered Wingull on his shoulder.

"Captain?" Joseph said.

"Joseph!" the jolly old man said. "Come in, come in! How are you? Oh, and who's your friend there?"

"His name's Steven, and he's taking the Gym Challenge. I'd stay for a while, but I have official league business to attend to," Joseph said. Briney's eyes widened knowingly and he nodded his head.

"I need you to take him to Dewford. I'd do it, but like I said, business."

Briney nodded. He turned back into the house. "STERN! WE'RE LEAVING!"

Joseph remounted Dodrio and fired back off into the sky.

A boy who looked a few years older than Steven appeared next to Captain Briney and the two left the house, Briney locking the door behind him.

Steven felt Briney's hand on his shoulder. "Some people never get used to flying on a Dodrio," he said, and then laughed heartily. "Come on, lad, we're setting sail."

Steven nodded, and clambered unsteadily back to his feet. The energetic Briney had already boarded his shiny new boat, the same Steven had seen a few days before while rushing Baltoy to the Pokémon Center in Petalburg City. Baltoy spun dizzily when Steven set him back on the ground.

The young Stern immediately followed Briney, who beckoned to Steven. "Let's get going! Set sail for Dewford Town!" he bellowed excitedly.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Route 105**

The ride to Dewford Town wasn't taking nearly as long as Steven would've thought. The boat rode more like a catamaran than an actual boat, and it was obvious by the skill with which he handled the wheel that Captain Briney was a very experienced sailor. Steven leaned on the rail, gazing out at the shimmering sapphire sea, and was surprised to find no swimmers floating in the ocean today.

"So, uh... where are you from?" Stern asked Steven, walking up to lean on the rail next to him.

"Rustboro City," Steven said. He wasn't sure he should say more. Joseph had seemed to trust Briney, but what about Stern?

"I heard you're taking the League Challenge. How many badges do you have?"

"Just one. The Stone Badge," Steven answered.

"That's the one from Rustboro, right? Isn't there a Gym in Petalburg City?"

"Yeah. The leader's name is Christina. She uses grass-types, but she has some powerful Pokémon. I didn't stand a chance."

"Think you'll do better here?" Stern asked.

"The gym leader here uses fighting-types. My Metang is part psychic-type, so I have the advantage."

"Toy!" Baltoy said, slapping the back of Steven's calf.

"You want to battle for me, Baltoy?" Steven said.

Baltoy shook its head.

"Oh. Just battle?"

Baltoy nodded.

"All right, then, Baltoy," Steven said, a slight grin on his face.

"What's with your Baltoy?" Stern asked.

"Oh, it's not mine," Steven said, before explaining the origins of the ground-type.

"So you don't want to keep it?" Stern asked.

"Of course I do. It just doesn't want to stay with me," Steven said.

"I wouldn't really want a Baltoy anyway. They wouldn't be at home on the sea," Stern said. He craned his neck to gaze toward the island in the distance.

"Not much longer now," he said.

Suddenly, the boat jolted. Stern looked back at Captain Briney, who was now worriedly looking over the side of the boat. "What was that, Captain?" he shouted.

"I don't know! Whatever it was, it came from underwater!"

Steven clutched the rail with one hand and his stomach with the other. The boat jolted again, loosing a rancid belch from his stomach. At once he threw his head down over the side of the boat and wretched.

"What's wrong with him?" Stern asked.

"Probably just a little seasick. He doesn't have his sea-legs yet!" Briney said, and then chortled to himself.

The boat jolted a third time, this time much harder than before, and Steven heard Captain Briney's laughing quickly turn into a gasp, and Baltoy cried out in alarm. Then Steven was enveloped in a deep blue haze. He could feel Metang's Poké Ball squirming with urgency. It was trying to escape for some reason, but it was in vain. Pokémon couldn't escape from their Poké Balls.

He could just make out a long, slender, dark shape retreating from the still-rocking boat, but he was unable to recognize the figure before it disappeared from sight in the murk. And then he realized just what the blue murk was.

Steven tried to swim. He kicked his legs and flailed his arms, but he just sank deeper. He'd never really swam before. Sure, his tutor had taken him running through the gardens back home, but his father had never let him near more water than a half-full bathtub for as long as he could remember. He could feel the weight of the egg in his backpack pulling him down.

The weight shifted. Steven continued to sink deeper into the ever-darkening waters. His lungs burned and he felt like there was a large weight crushing his chest.

Then he felt himself rising. He let out the stale air from his throat as he was pulled up by some unknown force, breaking the surface in seconds. He gasped, sucking in the salty air.

"You okay, bro?" asked a voice behind him.

"Yeah... yeah," Steven huffed. He looked up, seeing Briney's boat heading toward him.

"Good thing I was out here today, man. You almost drowned," Steven's rescuer said.

Steven coughed up a little water, but otherwise felt fine. He looked down, suddenly realizing he was floating on top of some wide, flat surface. Steven's legs hung off to either side, and the end of the surface was curved. It was mostly yellow, with two blue stripes running parallel to each other at the center of the surface.

Briney came closer on the boat, and Steven could see that Stern was easing it toward them. The old man extended one muscular arm down toward him, and he took it and felt himself lifted bodily over the railing and onto the deck.

"Thanks, lad!" Briney yelled to the rescuer.

Steven tried to climb to his feet, but his knees quivered and gave in. He crawled to the edge of the boat to get a look at his rescuer. He was a boy who didn't look like he could be much older than Steven, definitely younger than Stern, well-muscled, wearing dark blue trunks. Wavy black hair framed his face.

"Thanks for saving me," Steven said weakly.

"Need a lift? It's quite a ways back to Dewford still!" Briney said.

"Sure! Thanks, man!" The boy stood surely on his surf board, and clutched his fingers on the edge of the deck, and hauled himself up onto the deck beneath the rails. From the water, a round red and blue Pokémon with jagged yellow fins and sharp fangs butted the surf board, sending it high enough for the boy to grab it and lay it next to him.

"Thanks, Carvanha!" he said.

"Vanha!" the Pokémon replied.

"Is that your Carvanha?" Briney asked.

The boy chuckled dumbly. "Yup!" he said, scratching the back of his head.

"I'm Captain Briney, the owner and commanding officer of this fine vessel!" Briney said.

"This is Steven, who we're taking to Dewford so he can challenge Silva," he continued, indicating Steven.

He pointed to Stern, who waved happily. "And this is my apprentice, Stern."

"I'm Archie," the boy said.

"Well, Archie," Briney said, extending his hand, "it's a pleasure to meet ya! That's some grip you've got!" Briney retracted his hand from Archie's grip and rubbed it gingerly.

Archie turned to Steven. "So you're gonna fight Silva? That's awesome, dude."

"Thanks. I've already beaten Clay in Rustboro, and that was about a week ago," Steven said, finally finding himself able to stand. "I think I should do fine." He swung his backpack around in front of him and unzipped the main pocket, finding the egg still intact. He sighed in relief.

Then the boat jerked again, much more violently this time. Steven fell back to his knees, and felt Baltoy clutching his shoulder both for balance and in terror. Briney and Archie both flailed their limbs, barely managing to maintain their balance.

There was a sudden commotion in the water at the boat's side, and what sounded like barking. An eardrum-shattering roar drowned out all other sound for several seconds, and then a large blue serpentine Pokémon rose from the water. The Gyarados bellowed again, stretching its jaws wide and throwing back its triple-prong-crested head. Carvanha was biting unsuccessfully at the eggshell underside of the beast.

"Woah..." Archie murmured in awe.

The Gyarados angled its head downward and a massive and powerful jet of water exploded from its mouth, sending Carvanha skipping helplessly across the surface of the water. Briney raced to the wheel, relieving Stern, and nosed the boat in the opposite direction, but the Gyarados clamped its jaws on the boat's stern and lifted the end out of the water.

"Hold on to something!" Briney shouted. Steven reached over and grasped the railing as the boat angled ever higher. A short spray of water indicated that the propeller had been lifted from the water. Steven glanced downward, seeing the water falling away past the bow, and then realized he was now hanging by a single hand from the rail. He reached with his other hand, careful not to knock Baltoy off, and pulled himself upward, and wrapped his shoulder around the rail to gain a stronger grip.

Then Steven felt a sickening drop. His stomach rose into his throat, and he was suddenly immersed in the murky water once more before the boat righted and he was lifted back up into the air. Stern hacked and spat up water.

Steven looked up. The Gyarados was now glaring maliciously at them. Baltoy relaxed its grip on Steven's shoulder and covered its eyes with its flat hands for a second, and then turned to face the Gyarados.

Steven immediately realized what the tiny Pokémon had meant. "Everybody cover your eyes!" he screamed, shutting his eyelids tightly and burying his face in the bend of his elbow.

"Baaaal... TOY!"

Gyarados bellowed again, and Steven could hear it flailing and thrashing wildly. He chanced a look, and found the Gyarados's pupils had contracted to mere dots, and a white light emanating from Baltoy's body was fading.

"Let's go!" Steven said, grabbing Baltoy.

The Gyarados lunged blindly at the boat and missed completely, disappearing into the water. Then it resurfaced and dove at the deck again, but this time, Steven knew it wouldn't miss, even if it couldn't actually see the boat. The boat's motor growled back to life, but it wouldn't be fast enough.

Then a leg fell firmly in front of Steven, and he saw Archie, a grimly determined look on his face, arms outstretched, jam his surf board into the Gyarados's mouth as it bore down on them. The Gyarados instinctively clamped its jaws shut, snapping the board in half and scattering splinters over the boat and the water, and jerked away, ejecting the other half from its mouth. A small stream of red liquid dripped from between it teeth, and Steven could see a gash inside its mouth, no doubt from the board splintering.

Then the boat whirled around and they were sailing toward a chain of islands lining the western side of the route. The Gyarados roared behind them, and then disappeared a final time beneath the waves.

A few minutes later, Briney spotted a hut on one of the islands, and nosed the boat toward it, coming safely aground on the soft, sandy beach. Almost instantly, a squat man wearing a tan pith helmet and matching jacket appeared in the hut's doorway and began jogging toward the boat.

"Was it the Gyarados?" he shouted.

Captain Briney solemnly nodded his head.

The man's face melted into a grave expression. "You'd better come inside. It's getting dark and there's much to tell you."

The man turned and started back toward the hut. Briney, Stern, Archie, and Steven and Baltoy followed.


End file.
